Chinese, Tibetan, Indian or African Sword?
 

I recently picked up this sword and the tip reminded me of a Chinese or Tibetan trousse; the 22.5" blade is razor-sharp, so this is clearly a slashing weapon. It isn't a sword cane as the scabbard starts out round, but it eventually begins to flatten out as a more conventional sheath would; maybe the wire work on the scabbard is an indication of the origin. As shown the tip is broken off.
I was wondering if anyone else knew where this might have come from?

I would say this blade is shorter than it started out. The tip is off center.

Hello Drac2k,

I don't have an informed answer, I can only tell you my observations and my resultant conclusions. ;)
The blade form reminds me of Chinese jian swords, and the blade seems laminated, another hint that it could be a jian blade maybe in a rural area fitted with new mountings. The wire binding I only have seen by South-East-Asian blades and the lacquer work at the handle could also be Chinese.
A refitted jian blade?? :shrug: Only my 2cents.

Regards,
Detlef

Hello,

a composite item ?...

the hilt seems indian as we can see on indian sword canes as you said,
assembled on a shortened chinese jian blade ?

All very good observations from all parties . Yes I believe that it is a shortened blade, but the tip configuration seemed strange and it reminded me of a Chinese trousse tip. I too am leaning towards Chinese because of the Jian-like blade configuration, the scrollwork on the scabbard which almost looks like a Dha sheath. The blade above the handle does appear to have some European sword characteristics which could be a repurposed sword or one made in imitation and as such, I certainly think that it could be a composite sword.
I thought that it could possibly be Indian because of the cane-like handle, maybe it was a Fakir's weapon, and I have a couple of Indian ax handles that reminded me of the same color scheme.
Lastly, I threw in African because when all else fails, and no viable guess can be made, I attribute these items as possibly belonging to that land of mystery.

Interesting piece!

I would lean toward a 'refurbished' Chinese Jian in a Banjarmasin/Kalimantan dress. The Chinese were represented in large numbers due to trade in Southern Borneo. The bright red colour is often seen on edged weapons from this region and the typical knot is also largely associated with this region, however it is mostly seen in rattan.

I would date it in the 19th century.

Regards, Peter

Thanks, Peter that would certainly be great news. Just to throw a wrench into the works, the knot on the scabbard reminds me of one on a Dyak Mandau sheath; it still could have the Chinese connection as the Dyaks had a great deal of contact with the Chinese, either by trading or piracy.

Yes, the blade almost certainly is a shortened Jian . But the handle does look Indian. I would guess that overall it is a composite Sino-Indian Gupti.

I agree it is probably a jian blade. I also think it may be in its original dress, as it was put together in China. The knot may be influenced by a minority group, but the overall form is that of a "stick jian" or perhaps also called a "gun jian".

The tip has been modified.

I have one that is similar, and it is definitely all Chinese. From the overall work, I would say these are village manufacture, and likely to have a lot of variation within the form. I think it is a somewhat rare type, so there are not too many examples with which to compare it.

I will see if I can dig up a photo of mine.

I found a few old photos of my stick jian. It is likely Republican era, and definitely a fighting piece. The blade shows good lamination and a slightly triangular tip. The tip on the example that started the thread may have been an attempt to recreate a triangle point that had become rounded with sharpening.

My example is 100% Chinese, and I think it is close enough to the posted one. I see no reaason to think the posted one is anything other than a Chinese stick jian with perhaps some minority influence.

Good examples.
Indian Gupti takes the silver, but the gold goes to China.
Nice start of Winter Olympics:-)

Josh, you put to rest the origins of the sword. I'm surprised that I haven't run into one of these "stick swords," before. Were these used rurally or were they a poor man's Jian, perhaps used by gangs or laborers? Is there a specific region in China where they were prevalent?