Rare 18th Century Chinese Piandao (Saber) for Sale

[bond_fan]

Up for sale is an estimated mid - 18th century or earlier Chinese Piandao (Saber). It was dated to mid -18th century or earlier by Peter Dekker of Mandarin Mansion, based upon the shape of the blade and deterioration of the tang.

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It comes with the original certificate of authenticity from Dekker, which has a picture of the piandao pre-polish. However, Philip Tom recently polished this dao (See photos). To show the temper line in greater detail a small approximately 2.25” window was polished on the left side using a 3,500 grit Japanese sharpening stone.

The piandao has a long prominent fuller with two thinner fullers on the top and bottom pn both sides of the blade where they fade away about eight inches from the tip. Dekker told me this type of fullering is usually found on better blades of which this is and may indicate an officer in a piandao unit used this sword.

Piandaos have a very pronounce curvature and were often used in conjunction with shields (Tengpai). They are a fairly rare form of sword due to their lack of wide spread use in China.

This one is especially unique, because it has a Western tool mark, A 281, on the side. Several top collectors/dealers have examined this dao and they have never seen “Western” markings on any Chinese sword. The "Western" may be the result of this older high quality sword being kept for a “Western” military unit or warlord and inventory stamp at a later date.

Approximate Dimensions:

Blade Length: 25.625" - 65.08 cm
Overall Length: 32.5" - 82.55 cm
Handle Length: 6 15/16" - 17.5 cm
Thickness at Guard: .236" - 6 mm
Thickness near Tip: .118" - 3 mm
Height at Guard: 1.25" - 3.3 cm
Point of Balance: 9.375" - 24 cm
Weight: 21.12 oz - 598.74 grams

Condition

After polishing I would say the dao is in fine condition with the majority of the pitting and rust removed by the polish. There is one spot on the edge where a little chipping remains, but the blade has no cracks or other major problems. The layered steel is very tight and well made with signs of lamellar construction.

Cost is only $1,749.95 USD, plus shipping/insurance for delivery in the CONUS for a rare style dao with even rarer stamping.

Thanks for looking!

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