New book and swords: Tibetan

ariel · 6th April 2006, 02:34 AM

Today, April 5, is the opening of the exhibition in the Metropolian Museum in New York:" Warriors of the Himalayas" dedicated to the weapons of Tibet. They published a boook (a catalogue of sorts, only 300+ pages!), written mainly by Donald LaRocca. I was in NY several days ago and bought it (softcover) for $45. Amazon.com will be selling a hardcover version for $75.
Good book, with quite a lot of useful information. One piece of info: Philip Tom is referenced there as preparing a book on Chinese weapons. That should be extremely interesting!!
Tibetan swords per se are not my taste, but still one needs to know the field.
I have three and here they are: the most frequent variety, the short sword and the Bhutanese dagger (notice the difference in pommels: that is apparently how Tibetan are differentiated from Bhutanese). Both swords have faint "hairpin" construction of the blade and this is the hallmark of the genuinely old blades. How old? Well, even in the book the best they could come up with for similar swords is 17th-19th century. No signatures, no style difference over several centuries. The longest one is traditionally called Ke-tri, the dagger is Dughti, the middle one... anybody knows?

Justin · 7th April 2006, 02:31 PM

Nice pieces!,the middle one is called a Tsep-Sa {spelling may be off}.

dennee · 7th April 2006, 07:20 PM

Tibetan swords are my favorite. I'll take all you got.

Battara · 7th April 2006, 07:35 PM

We ought to get RSWORD in this - he'll know what to do!

ariel · 7th April 2006, 07:39 PM

No deals on this Forum, please!
Private messsages or Swap Forum only!

dennee · 8th April 2006, 04:06 AM

Hmmm... My comment was meant facetiously (well, more or less), but the "smilie" I added didn't appear in the post for some reason.

RSWORD · 8th April 2006, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Battara

We ought to get RSWORD in this - he'll know what to do!

Yes, it is not often we have posts on Tibetan swords. I'll share some examples from my collection to add to Ariels.

Jim McDougall · 8th April 2006, 05:41 AM

Yay! Rick!!

Absolutely right, we seldom if ever have anything on the very esoteric Tibetan swords and I very much look forward to seeing examples, especially knowing your acumen for coming up with unigue and outstanding examples. I think the most prevalent question that comes to mind concerning Tibetan swords is , how can one discern whether an example is Tibetan, or in fact Bhutanese. The ke tri is well established as Tibetan, but it seems that many of the commonly seen fretted round handle type hilts commonly held to be Bhutanese are actually Tibetan as well ?
All the best,
Jim

I know that Mr. LaRocca was working on research on Tibetan swords some years ago, so I really look forward to seeing his work at last in print. The expertise and knowledge of Philip Tom on Asian swords, especially Chinese, is very close to legendary! and I am more than anxious to see his work in print as well!

I really appreciate the notice on these references . Thanks Ariel!!

6th April 2006, 02:34 AM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	New book and swords: Tibetan Today, April 5, is the opening of the exhibition in the Metropolian Museum in New York:" Warriors of the Himalayas" dedicated to the weapons of Tibet. They published a boook (a catalogue of sorts, only 300+ pages!), written mainly by Donald LaRocca. I was in NY several days ago and bought it (softcover) for $45. Amazon.com will be selling a hardcover version for $75. Good book, with quite a lot of useful information. One piece of info: Philip Tom is referenced there as preparing a book on Chinese weapons. That should be extremely interesting!! Tibetan swords per se are not my taste, but still one needs to know the field. I have three and here they are: the most frequent variety, the short sword and the Bhutanese dagger (notice the difference in pommels: that is apparently how Tibetan are differentiated from Bhutanese). Both swords have faint "hairpin" construction of the blade and this is the hallmark of the genuinely old blades. How old? Well, even in the book the best they could come up with for similar swords is 17th-19th century. No signatures, no style difference over several centuries. The longest one is traditionally called Ke-tri, the dagger is Dughti, the middle one... anybody knows? Attached Images

7th April 2006, 02:31 PM	#2
Justin Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 175	Nice pieces!,the middle one is called a Tsep-Sa {spelling may be off}.

7th April 2006, 07:20 PM	#3
dennee Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: College Park, MD Posts: 186	Tibetan swords are my favorite. I'll take all you got.

7th April 2006, 07:35 PM	#4
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,226	We ought to get RSWORD in this - he'll know what to do!

7th April 2006, 07:39 PM	#5
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	No deals on this Forum, please! Private messsages or Swap Forum only!

8th April 2006, 04:06 AM	#6
dennee Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: College Park, MD Posts: 186	Hmmm... My comment was meant facetiously (well, more or less), but the "smilie" I added didn't appear in the post for some reason.

8th April 2006, 05:41 AM	#8
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,954	Yay! Rick!! Absolutely right, we seldom if ever have anything on the very esoteric Tibetan swords and I very much look forward to seeing examples, especially knowing your acumen for coming up with unigue and outstanding examples. I think the most prevalent question that comes to mind concerning Tibetan swords is , how can one discern whether an example is Tibetan, or in fact Bhutanese. The ke tri is well established as Tibetan, but it seems that many of the commonly seen fretted round handle type hilts commonly held to be Bhutanese are actually Tibetan as well ? All the best, Jim I know that Mr. LaRocca was working on research on Tibetan swords some years ago, so I really look forward to seeing his work at last in print. The expertise and knowledge of Philip Tom on Asian swords, especially Chinese, is very close to legendary! and I am more than anxious to see his work in print as well! I really appreciate the notice on these references . Thanks Ariel!!