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Asian arms in old European paintings logo

Asian arms in Dutch master paintings

Dutch masters' fascination with exotic Asian wares shown in a series of paintings.
So-op mandau hilt

So-op

Dayak word for their sword hilt.
Thai Niello sword

Thai gilded silver niello sword

Straight gold inlaid blade and silver-gilt niello mounts.
SE-asian-dha-musashi-namako-tsuba-logo

SE Asian dha with "Musashi tsuba"

In excavated condition, with copper alloy hilt.
Khyber sword

Khyber knife

The English name for the peculiar slashing weapon used around the Khyber pass.
Khyber knife logo

Unusual khyber knife

With forge folded, overlaid blade.
Unusual Vietnamese truong dao logo

Unusual Vietnamese trường đao

With forward swept iron guard and swollen grip.
Caucasian qadara logo

Transcaucasian kindjal

With a rare single-edged blade with tight fullering.
Northern Vietnamese saber logo

A Tonkinese saber

Northern Vietnam, 19th century
Tibetan hairpin forging logo

Thur

Tibetan term for their "hairpin forging" of blades.
Philip Tom sword evolution drawing

A sketch of East Asian sword evolution

Some time ago, Philip Tom sent me a bunch of his old research files on Asian arms for me to study.

Qing dynasty dadao logo

A large Qing dàdāo

Large and heavy example with the notable Umlauff provenance.
Tibetan silver overlaid shortsword logo

Silver overlaid Tibetan shortsword

With a rare, finely forged double hairpin blade.
Yunnan knives pair logo

Pair of fine Yunnan knives

Carrying Chinese silver marks on their scabbard mounts.
Large Qing military sword

Large Qing military sword

Probably of Southern origin, with a straight blade and flaring tip.
Archaic Asian shortsword

Archaic Chinese shortsword

Probably of Chinese origin, resembling some of the earliest Japanese swords in existence.
Nakago logo

Nakago (茎 / 中心)

Japanese word for the tang of a sword
Outstanding set of Chinese hudiedao / wudipdou / batjamdo logo

Outstanding set of húdiédāo

A set of the rarer long and wide variety with very well-carved hilts and good overall finish.
Chinese jian

Qing jiàn in later mounts

Qing period blade in very nicely made early 20th century mounts.
Southern Chinese hudiedao

Southern Chinese húdiédāo set

Wide-bladed pair with eccentric hilt features. Complete with scabbard.
Southern Chinese saber marked H. Hunt 1876 logo

Chinese military saber marked 1876

Southern Chinese officer style saber with later inscription H.Hunt 1876.
Village dao logo

Chinese village dāo

A simple utilitarian weapon, probably made for rural martial artists or militia.
Signed paidao

Qing páidāo (shield knife)

With Tongzhi reign marks, corresponding to the year 1863.
Qing tuanlian jian

Late Qing tuánliàn jiàn

Long yet light, with unusual flower-shaped iron guard.
Huyadao logo

Hǔyádāo (虎牙刀), "tiger tooth sword"

Mandarin name of a Chinese-edged weapon with a 1:1 hilt-blade ratio.
Tuanlian jian logo

Large Ming tuánliàn jiàn

A large piece dating from the Ming-Qing transition period of the 17th century.
Southern Chinese bannerman huyadao

Southern Bannermen Hǔyádāo

A pair, both with Banner markings, one Manchu and one Hanjun.
Echizen Kanesada blade in spectacular koshirae

Echizen Kanesada in striking koshirae

Blade with fine dragon horimono. The mounts signed Sōmin and Masatatsu.
Fine daisho with maki-e lacquer work

Fine autumn themed daishō

Both blades signed, its koshirae fine maki-e lacquer work. Ito school tsuba and Mino Gotō style mounts.
Qing peidao with silver overlay logo

Silver overlaid pèidāo

A Qing officer saber with silver overlay on the blade.
Punjabi Khanda for the court of Ratlam logo

Punjabi khanda for court of Ratlam

The hilt carries an inscription dating it to 1841.
Fine Kutch horse head shamshir

Fine Kutch horse head shamshir

The style typical of Kutch, the execution far above what is normally seen on work from that area.
Tipu mania child's talwar logo

Southern Indian child's talwar

With an inscription alluding to it having belonged to the son of Tipu Sultan.
Firangi logo

Firanghi with gold overlaid hilt

The manner of decoration is entirely geometrical, which is very hard to do right.
Marwar talwar with dated hilt

Marwari talwar with 1857 dated hilt

The hilt is in the typical Marwari Rajput style, made by Ram Namar in 1857 A.D.
Deccan talwar of William Fraser logo

A Fraser talwar from the Deccan

Once belonging to William Fraser (1784-1835), a British civil servant.
18th century Indian talwar with Fraser provenance

A Fraser talwar, 18th century

Once belonging to William Fraser (1784-1835), a British civil servant.
Southeast Asian katana logo

Japanese inspired Asian sword

Inspired by uchigatana brought into Vietnam by Japanese refugees who settled along the coast.
Kachin Ntugalu sword

Ntugalu

Kachin name for a long straight sword.
Iron hilt Mindan dha logo

Very good Mindan dha

With silver overlay on iron even continued on its hilt.
Mindan Yama zatdaw dha logo

Mindan Ramayana dha

Fine Mindan dha with a scene from the Ramayana on its blade.
Silver mounted dha logo

Silver mounted dha

With entirely silver covered hilt and silver mounts on scabbard.
Mindan dha logo

Mindan dha

Fine silver overlaid dha made in Mindan village, south of Mandalay, gained fame in the 19th century.
Rare bird dha logo

Rare bird dha

One of the rarest forms of dha, with a hilt and scabbard carved like a bird.
Heavy dha logo

Heavy dha

The thick and heavy blade is marked with a script that has yet to be identified.
Burmese dha logo

Burmese dha with interesting blade

With inscriptions on blade, unusual grooves, and brass inlaid copper mounts.
Mainsa dha logo

Mainsa dha

Term coined by Bell in 1907, describing a dha that by then was mainly of Chinese make.
Plain dha with baldric logo

Plain dha with baldric

Nice plain dha as used in Yunnan, Burma, and northern Thailand. Complete with baldric.
A plain dha

A plain dha

Of a type likely produced by the Shan people and traded widely in the region.
Dpa'dam logo

Tibetan dpa'dam with belt hook

A large Tibetan sword, known in the local language as dpa'dam.