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#1 |
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: USA Georgia
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Another sword I am trying to identify. Bought this in with a lot of good modern made Islamic swords from the Shah Jahan's collection. The seller said it was Iranian. Obviously this is not modern. Single edge and a bit crude, but with an inlaid blade. 29" OAL. Just noticed abit of active rust. Going to get out my oil and some fine steel wool.
Any comments? |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: East Coast USA
Posts: 3,191
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#3 | |
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: USA Georgia
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thanks Lew, I knew that handle shape was familiar. Most I have seen have been more like the fancy one on Artzi'x site that you so kindly provided. I like both the ceremonial pieces and the battle veterans. Mine sure looks like a user. Quite sharp also. Any idea what it is called? Some particular variety or name? |
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#4 | |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: East Coast USA
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#5 |
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Location: California
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Donald LaRocca, assoc. curator of arms and armor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has written a masterful catalog for the exhibition, "Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet" (NY: Metro. Mus. of Art / New Haven: Yale University, 2006). There is a rather fancy example of one of these swords, with its original scabbard (the one photographed on this thread has a modern replacement of non-traditional construction), identified as Bhutanese (cat. no. 73, p 171). Mr. LaRocca's notation states that such swords "are often found in southern and eastern Tibet".
The catalog doesn't provide the Bhutanese name for these weapons; I will attempt to contact a gentleman in Bhutan who was in touch with me a few years back (hope his email addie is still the same) ane will let you know what he says. The Tibetans who used these swords would probably have called them DPA' DAM, referring specifically to a long bladed sword with an oblique tip. The generic term for sword in Tibetan is "ral gri". See the glossary in the above-cited book for additional sword terms in Tibetan. |
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#6 |
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Location: California
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Bill,
These Bhutanese swords are descended from the straight, single-edged backswords used in China and Korea during the medieval dynasties and which were also the basis for the very earliest swords in Japan. Blade contour is the same (although the Chinese/Korean versions have the ridge down each face of the blade which in Japan became the "shinogi" that you see on the typical "samurai sword". The construction of your hilt is pretty close to those on some of those Sino-Japanese types; see THE JAPANESE SWORD: IRON CRAFTSMANSHIP AND THE WARRIOR SPIRIT, Tokyo National Museum, 1997, cat. no. 29, 59, 60, 63. The fellow who sold you the sword was saying "Iranian" probably because single edged, oblique-tipped blades of very similar shape were known in the Middle East. An example of one of these very rare swords is cat. no. 71 in Unsal Yucel, ISLAMIC SWORDS AND SWORDSMITHS, Istanbul: IRCICA, 2001. That blade is attributed to the Mamluk ruler Qansuh al-Ghawri, 1501-1517. |
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#7 | |
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: USA Georgia
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I just received my copy of this incredible book. I cannot recommend it too highly. It is a "must have" and even if people are not studying this area, a wonderful read. I believe that you did some writing for the Met? Best Bill Thank you again for letting us know about it! |
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#8 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 175
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Nice! Looks to be from Bhutan or possibly Tibet.
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