Chinese Jian

RSWORD · 4th March 2008, 02:39 AM

I agree with Josh on his overall assessment of the sword. Vintage jian of this length are quite hard to come by and this makes it a desirable piece. I suspect the blade is pattern welded because in some of the overall shots I can see evidence of a "hamon" which would indicate heat treated, hardened edges. The blade is too scratched up and covered in grease to see if there is a lamellar pattern to the body of the blade so hopefully after a light cleaning this will be more evident. However, an antique jian will have hard edges so I recommend testing this once you have it in hand. Other than the crude guard everything else looks late Qing. The chord grip shows some wear and the wood beneath shows a good patina. The cloth tassles are a bit tattered but show good age themselves. I have also seen the painted fittings and have an example in my collection that is also gold colored. Has a very village or provincial feel with rough lacquered or painted scabbards and painted fittings but then again that is a bit of character, eh. While not the prettiest card in the deck I think it had a long service life and certainly a user for personal defense in the late Qing period with a crude guard added at an unknown date. Overall, if the blade is indeed period-which I suspect- I think you did quite well.

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4th March 2008, 02:39 AM	#5
RSWORD Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,087	I agree with Josh on his overall assessment of the sword. Vintage jian of this length are quite hard to come by and this makes it a desirable piece. I suspect the blade is pattern welded because in some of the overall shots I can see evidence of a "hamon" which would indicate heat treated, hardened edges. The blade is too scratched up and covered in grease to see if there is a lamellar pattern to the body of the blade so hopefully after a light cleaning this will be more evident. However, an antique jian will have hard edges so I recommend testing this once you have it in hand. Other than the crude guard everything else looks late Qing. The chord grip shows some wear and the wood beneath shows a good patina. The cloth tassles are a bit tattered but show good age themselves. I have also seen the painted fittings and have an example in my collection that is also gold colored. Has a very village or provincial feel with rough lacquered or painted scabbards and painted fittings but then again that is a bit of character, eh. While not the prettiest card in the deck I think it had a long service life and certainly a user for personal defense in the late Qing period with a crude guard added at an unknown date. Overall, if the blade is indeed period-which I suspect- I think you did quite well.