Wide Sino-Vietnamese knife
Large bowie-type blade with prominent raised backedge.
Longquan jiàn by Wan Zi Hao
A Chinese shortsword made by a well-known Longquan maker.
Small Chinese saber guard
Of pierced iron, elaborately cut with lotus petal border.
Qing powder flask
Southern Chinese style with birds in plum branches.
Fine Qing powder flask
Very good example with a finely carved warrior scene.
Chinese export lacquer box
A nice example with unusually fine lacquerwork and a monogram in the lid.
Southern Chinese military bamboo helmet
The archetype Chinese bamboo helmet that is often seen on early photos.
Pair of fine Yunnan knives
Carrying Chinese silver marks on their scabbard mounts.
Large Qing military sword
Probably of Southern origin, with a straight blade and flaring tip.
Southern Chinese openwork sword guard
In the style of northern work of the 16th and 17th centuries
Assymetric dragon tsuba
Chinese work for the Japanese market.
Canton tsuba with 28 "jewels"
Canton work for the Japanese market, with 28 metal balls in separate compartments.
Early Canton tsuba
Made in Canton, China, for the Japanese market.
Lobed Canton tsuba
Made in Canton, China, for the Japanese market.
Canton tsuba with ship
Made in Canton, China, for the Japanese market.
Five dragon Canton tsuba
Made in Canton, China, for the Japanese market.
Water caltrop Canton tsuba
Made in Canton, China, for the Japanese market.
Facing dragon Canton tsuba
Made in Canton, China, for the Japanese market.
Nanban tsuba, a Canton group
Introduction
Among the genre generally classified as Nanban tsuba there is a distinct group with cha
Outstanding set of húdiédāo
A set of the rarer long and wide variety with very well-carved hilts and good overall finish.
Southern Chinese húdiédāo set
Wide-bladed pair with eccentric hilt features. Complete with scabbard.
Chinese military saber marked 1876
Southern Chinese officer style saber with later inscription H.Hunt 1876.
Qing páidāo (shield knife)
With Tongzhi reign marks, corresponding to the year 1863.
Southern Bannermen Hǔyádāo
A pair, both with Banner markings, one Manchu and one Hanjun.
Mainsa dha
Term coined by Bell in 1907, describing a dha that by then was mainly of Chinese make.
Han Plain Red Banner saber
Southern Chinese saber made for a soldier under the Plain Red Banner.
Chinese ring pommeled knife
Of a type used by bandits, brigands, pirates, and the like.
Longquan jiàn by Qian Zi Hao
A Chinese shortsword made by a well-known Longquan maker.
Chinese fighting carrying pole
A heavily executed Chinese carrying pole that was used as a weapon.
Chinese demon head saber
Based on a Chinese military saber blade, with unusual horn demon hilt
Slender hudiedao pair
A classic example of the narrow military type, with brass guards.
Hudiedao set with scabbard
Classic pair of Southern Chinese butterfly swords.
Gilt duanjian with foreign blade
Unusual Chinese duanjian with fine gilt mounts and a blade of non-Chinese origin.
Signed Chinese rattan shield
This one has the early, peaked form and is signed by its maker.
Polished Sino-Vietnamese dagger
A heavy Sin-Vietnamese fighting knife, with recently polished blade.
Lóngyuān (龍渊)
The former name of Lóngquán, a famous sword-making town in China.
Good late Qing Longquan jian
With bat-shaped guard. A very high-quality example for the time period.
Eastern Tibetan or Yunnan zhibeidao
A simple piece, but with a nicely etched blade typical for the Tibetan / Sichuan borderlands.
Sawasa style iron guard
Unusual piece with depiction of a foreign figure.
Pōdāo with dragon tūnkǒu
With a large iron guard and hard wooden shaft.
Jūn Huǒ Jú-made shuāng shǒudāo
Produced in the ordnance factory in Zengbu, near Guangzhou.
Jūn Huǒ Jú (軍火局)
Name of a Chinese arms factory just east of Guangzhou, active 1875 onwards.
Jūn Huǒ Jú-made saber
Produced in the ordnance factory in Zengbu, near Guangzhou.
Double shortswords with belt hook
A classic set of Chinese double swords, complete with suspension and hook.
Chinese paired shortswords
Cantonese double swords with archaic dragon design mounts.
Early Chinese shortsword
A classic duanjian, but of somewhat earlier manufacture than most.
Shuāngjiàn with carved scabbard
A paired jian of fushou type, with carved hardwood scabbard.
Cast iron compass rose guard
A peculiar cast iron sword guard, probably from the South China Seas area.
Unusual Chinese saber
Built around an imported blade, with a human head shaped pommel.