Unusual shape Chinese?? Spear/ Polearm

Gavin Nugent · 3rd December 2010, 07:32 AM

Hi Nathaniel,

The collection spoken of speaks to me as a whole, more as Thai in full context and it also coincides with other spears and polearms known in the same vein that are definately Thai. In particular, although not unique to Thailand, materials used such as the type of bamboo shafts and types of collars are good pointers. Even a number of the longest and highest end examples I have seen of quality Thai spears are on sturdy rather unrefined looking bamboo shafts. What I have also noted though and more so in Iain's link provided, is that these pieces in the Palace museum seen to have more refined timber shafts and a standardised type of collar

..maybe a regional thing, maybe a military thing, maybe a royal thing???
IMHO only, the consistancy of design traits at this point in time, along with similar blade stylings seen in the context of the collection, points to this region for me.
As Spears of SEA are a rather unexplored, I for one would love to see more work done on the subject....if the weren't so expensive to ship I'd be buying more, I love them long pointy SEA spears ;-)

Gav

Emanuel · 3rd December 2010, 03:40 PM

Hello,

Some time ago a gentleman on another forum posted an identical pole-arm along with a collection of Thai spears. He had purchased all of them in Thailand but could not recognize this blade style in the usual patterns. It came with a scabbard, which I thought was very similar to Indonesian tombak scabbards. This may, of course, just be a case of similar functional solutions than anything else.

Emanuel

Peter Dekker · 3rd December 2010, 04:48 PM

The engraved features on the blade remind me of Vietnamese weapons.

The overall shape is unlike any Chinese, Vietnamese or Thai weapons I've seen so far but the style and workmanship of its decoration certaintly points to the region around Vietnam.

-Peter

Gavin Nugent · 3rd December 2010, 05:07 PM

Welcome Peter, great to see you here :-)

Gav

Peter Dekker · 3rd December 2010, 05:24 PM

Hi,

Glad to be here too! I registered years ago but my account never seemed to work properly, there was something wrong with the permissions. I decided to give it another try today and suddenly noticed it works.

P.S. I got something of you here to wrap. There was some interesting stuff under the wrap, a piece of paper with characters. I'll send pics later, my laptop is currently out for repair so I don't have access to my other mail accounts.

-Peter

Gavin Nugent · 3rd December 2010, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Dekker

Hi,

P.S. I got something of you here to wrap. There was some interesting stuff under the wrap, a piece of paper with characters. I'll send pics later, my laptop is currently out for repair so I don't have access to my other mail accounts.

-Peter

Great news Peter, thanks! Is this the first grip or second grip?

Nathaniel, can you post your better images for all to view, they do from memory show more detail....it may help others solve the riddle???

Gav

Nathaniel · 4th December 2010, 06:23 AM

Thanks for the post guys

Glad to have the conversation going. Peter, I'm glad to hear you agree too with my thoughts on the Vietnamese style engraving. Gavin, I agree...it would be great if there was some more literature on SEA pole weapons.

Here are some of the first pictures I took, Gavin...not the best..little dark:

3rd December 2010, 07:32 AM	#1
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	what you speak of Hi Nathaniel, The collection spoken of speaks to me as a whole, more as Thai in full context and it also coincides with other spears and polearms known in the same vein that are definately Thai. In particular, although not unique to Thailand, materials used such as the type of bamboo shafts and types of collars are good pointers. Even a number of the longest and highest end examples I have seen of quality Thai spears are on sturdy rather unrefined looking bamboo shafts. What I have also noted though and more so in Iain's link provided, is that these pieces in the Palace museum seen to have more refined timber shafts and a standardised type of collar ..maybe a regional thing, maybe a military thing, maybe a royal thing??? IMHO only, the consistancy of design traits at this point in time, along with similar blade stylings seen in the context of the collection, points to this region for me. As Spears of SEA are a rather unexplored, I for one would love to see more work done on the subject....if the weren't so expensive to ship I'd be buying more, I love them long pointy SEA spears ;-) Gav Last edited by freebooter; 3rd December 2010 at 07:50 AM.

3rd December 2010, 05:07 PM	#4
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	Welcome Welcome Peter, great to see you here :-) Gav

3rd December 2010, 03:40 PM	#2
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Hello, Some time ago a gentleman on another forum posted an identical pole-arm along with a collection of Thai spears. He had purchased all of them in Thailand but could not recognize this blade style in the usual patterns. It came with a scabbard, which I thought was very similar to Indonesian tombak scabbards. This may, of course, just be a case of similar functional solutions than anything else. Emanuel

3rd December 2010, 04:48 PM	#3
Peter Dekker Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Kingdom of the Netherlands Posts: 64	The engraved features on the blade remind me of Vietnamese weapons. The overall shape is unlike any Chinese, Vietnamese or Thai weapons I've seen so far but the style and workmanship of its decoration certaintly points to the region around Vietnam. -Peter

3rd December 2010, 05:24 PM	#5
Peter Dekker Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Kingdom of the Netherlands Posts: 64	Hi, Glad to be here too! I registered years ago but my account never seemed to work properly, there was something wrong with the permissions. I decided to give it another try today and suddenly noticed it works. P.S. I got something of you here to wrap. There was some interesting stuff under the wrap, a piece of paper with characters. I'll send pics later, my laptop is currently out for repair so I don't have access to my other mail accounts. -Peter

4th December 2010, 06:23 AM	#7
Nathaniel Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 865	Thanks for the post guys Glad to have the conversation going. Peter, I'm glad to hear you agree too with my thoughts on the Vietnamese style engraving. Gavin, I agree...it would be great if there was some more literature on SEA pole weapons. Here are some of the first pictures I took, Gavin...not the best..little dark: