Asian arms in Dutch master paintings
Dutch masters' fascination with exotic Asian wares shown in a series of paintings.
So-op
Dayak word for their sword hilt.
Thai gilded silver niello sword
Straight gold inlaid blade and silver-gilt niello mounts.
SE Asian dha with "Musashi tsuba"
In excavated condition, with copper alloy hilt.
Khyber knife
The English name for the peculiar slashing weapon used around the Khyber pass.
Unusual khyber knife
With forge folded, overlaid blade.
Unusual Vietnamese trường đao
With forward swept iron guard and swollen grip.
Transcaucasian kindjal
With a rare single-edged blade with tight fullering.
A Tonkinese saber
Northern Vietnam, 19th century
Thur
Tibetan term for their "hairpin forging" of blades.
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.
A large Qing dàdāo
Large and heavy example with the notable Umlauff provenance.
Silver overlaid Tibetan shortsword
With a rare, finely forged double hairpin blade.
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.
Archaic Chinese shortsword
Probably of Chinese origin, resembling some of the earliest Japanese swords in existence.
Nakago (茎 / 中心)
Japanese word for the tang of a sword
Outstanding set of húdiédāo
A set of the rarer long and wide variety with very well-carved hilts and good overall finish.
Qing jiàn in later mounts
Qing period blade in very nicely made early 20th century mounts.
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.
Chinese village dāo
A simple utilitarian weapon, probably made for rural martial artists or militia.
Qing páidāo (shield knife)
With Tongzhi reign marks, corresponding to the year 1863.
Late Qing tuánliàn jiàn
Long yet light, with unusual flower-shaped iron guard.
Hǔyádāo (虎牙刀), "tiger tooth sword"
Mandarin name of a Chinese-edged weapon with a 1:1 hilt-blade ratio.
Large Ming tuánliàn jiàn
A large piece dating from the Ming-Qing transition period of the 17th century.
Southern Bannermen Hǔyádāo
A pair, both with Banner markings, one Manchu and one Hanjun.
Echizen Kanesada in striking koshirae
Blade with fine dragon horimono. The mounts signed Sōmin and Masatatsu.
Fine autumn themed daishō
Both blades signed, its koshirae fine maki-e lacquer work. Ito school tsuba and Mino Gotō style mounts.
Silver overlaid pèidāo
A Qing officer saber with silver overlay on the blade.
Punjabi khanda for court of Ratlam
The hilt carries an inscription dating it to 1841.
Fine Kutch horse head shamshir
The style typical of Kutch, the execution far above what is normally seen on work from that area.
Southern Indian child's talwar
With an inscription alluding to it having belonged to the son of Tipu Sultan.
Firanghi with gold overlaid hilt
The manner of decoration is entirely geometrical, which is very hard to do right.
Marwari talwar with 1857 dated hilt
The hilt is in the typical Marwari Rajput style, made by Ram Namar in 1857 A.D.
A Fraser talwar from the Deccan
Once belonging to William Fraser (1784-1835), a British civil servant.
A Fraser talwar, 18th century
Once belonging to William Fraser (1784-1835), a British civil servant.
Japanese inspired Asian sword
Inspired by uchigatana brought into Vietnam by Japanese refugees who settled along the coast.
Ntugalu
Kachin name for a long straight sword.
Very good Mindan dha
With silver overlay on iron even continued on its hilt.
Mindan Ramayana dha
Fine Mindan dha with a scene from the Ramayana on its blade.
Silver mounted dha
With entirely silver covered hilt and silver mounts on scabbard.
Mindan dha
Fine silver overlaid dha made in Mindan village, south of Mandalay, gained fame in the 19th century.
Rare bird dha
One of the rarest forms of dha, with a hilt and scabbard carved like a bird.
Heavy dha
The thick and heavy blade is marked with a script that has yet to be identified.
Burmese dha with interesting blade
With inscriptions on blade, unusual grooves, and brass inlaid copper mounts.
Mainsa dha
Term coined by Bell in 1907, describing a dha that by then was mainly of Chinese make.
Plain dha with baldric
Nice plain dha as used in Yunnan, Burma, and northern Thailand. Complete with baldric.
A plain dha
Of a type likely produced by the Shan people and traded widely in the region.