Vietnamese guoms

[Ren Ren]

I congratulate you on acquiring this excellent sword! Thank you so much for showing us all the photo of your unique item! Never before have I seen anything close to the same.

Now about the sad thing - there are still no specialized books on the historical weapons of Indochina. At least in European languages ​​and Vietnamese. The articles published on Mandarin Mansion are in my opinion the best choice for today, but they are not yet able to see the whole picture.
For this reason, the opinions of connoisseurs of Vietnamese weapons are largely subjective. And mine too.

Originally Posted by werecow

The "new" one has a (what looks to me like) ivory grip, with an admittedly somewhat ugly old repair (it looks like it was once split and then glued back on rather crudely; the whole guard could use some cleaning). I suspect the lion(?) head pommel may once have had inlays in the eyes. It looks a little bit stoned with that smirk.

I believe that the scabbard was made much later than the sword, in the first third of the 20th century. And the sword itself belongs to the beginning of the 19th century. The difference in the decor style of the silver details is striking to me. At the turn of the 18-19 centuries. in Vietnam, more precisely in its southern part, in the possessions of the Nguyen clan, there was a strong influence of France. And this is noticeable in the design of the sword - a protective bow and pommel in the shape of a lion's head. But this is not a copy of the French lion, but the mythical dog-like lion Nghe, often depicted as a protector and gate guard. On the hilt of the sword is a pattern of curls or tongues of flame pointing upwards. This is an interesting detail - in Vietnam there is a beautiful legend that when Prince Nguyen Phuc Anh, the future founder of the imperial Nguyen dynasty, was in exile on the island of Phu Quoc, his faithful companions and guards were dogs of the unique local breed Phu Quoc Ridgeback, which have a strip of wool along the ridge directed from tail to head. In memory of these dogs, the ornament adorns the back of sword hilts.
While on Phu Quoc Island, Prince Nguyen Phuc Anh negotiated successfully with King Taksin of Siam. Later, the Nguyen army, together with the Siamese troops, fought against the Tai Son rebels. Thus, at the end of the 18th century, the Vietnamese and Siamese were quite familiar with each other's weapons and it is safe to assume that a mutual exchange took place. And when, after some time, fighting began between them for influence in Cambodia, military trophies also appeared.