Korean knife, part of my personal collection

Gavin Nugent · 20th April 2009, 02:22 PM

As Korean swords and knives are quite a rarity, I thought many here might be interested in viewing this lovely little knife from my private collection.
The scabbard colour is not original to the piece as it has been re-lacquered.
It is superbly crafted, sports a lovely razor sharp blade of very nice proportions and appears to be of considerable age.
Comments most welcome as I would like to work towards identifying the exact age.

Gav

Jim McDougall · 23rd April 2009, 07:27 PM

Hi Gav,
What an absolutely breathtaking knife!!! and while I dont know a great deal on these, I thought I'd add a few notes while we await the usual stampede to express opinions and observations!!

I think the most difficult weapons to identify must surely be Korean, as they really dont adhere to set patterns and reflect mostly styles of the Chinese as well as the Japanese who occupied them from 1910-45. Most of the heirloom weaponry was destroyed to eradicate and subjugate the culture from what I understand, but certainly examples remain.

In this piece, profound Chinese influence of the Manchu's Qing dynasty prevail. The scabbard and its mounts are of the typical yuan shi qiao (rounded end scabbard) common to late 18th throughout the 19th century in China. These are seen on many of the remounted sabres with goose quill and willow leaf style blades.
The pommel cap reminds me of the hats worn by Manchu's and it seems of a style (commonly termed horses hoof) seen on the familiar sabres with 'oxtail' blades so commonly seen after the Boxer Rebellion. The quatrefoil style guard is seen also on a number of these oxtail swords, but it seems those are not solid piece like this.
The red lacquering on the scabbard is also often seen on these Chinese scabbards.

It does seem that in some conversation long ago I was told Koreans had a particular affinity for applying red to thier swords. Naturally since I cannot substantiate that, it remains simply a curiosity aroused by seeing this piece.

What is most unusual and attractive is the Japanese style blade resembling those loosely in profile, and the very decorative habaki (blade collar).

It would seem as noted, difficult, to classify this as distinctly Korean, but seems very plausible with the combining of element influences in the reflective culture of Korea. I wish there was more research material or resources on Korean items, but even the single article ever written on them by J. Boots in 1934, does not address much on general identification, only early history mostly.

All the best,
Jim

Gavin Nugent · 24th April 2009, 10:02 AM

Outstanding points and references Jim, nice to see some expression of interest and dissemination of information about the lesser known items.

Your notes as usual are well thought out, explained clearly and backed with reference, thank you.

It certainly is unfortunate that with Korea and many other nations throughout time, that they suffered these losses at the hands of others and were concerned in other cultures their own hands.

I think I can safely say as you indicated there is profound Chinese influence in this piece with regards to the scabbard decoration, one that I have seen go back a couple of hundred years.
I certainly see the Korean factor present with the "sunburst" layers to the quatrefoil guard and the double "sunburst" layers to the pommel.
However, I cannot offer much at all on this piece other than the images and simple comparative observations with other web references to point this to being a Korean knife because as you say there is zip zero zilch concrete reference material.

There may be some more learned people out there on the subject?

Gav

Jim McDougall · 24th April 2009, 11:13 PM

Thanks very much Gav. Interesting points on the sunbursts, which I noticed but hadnt realized Korean significance. Are there comparitive examples in other Korean material culture with this feature? I guess really the best place to look is in references on Korean arts and crafts where such similarities might be found.

All the best,
Jim

Gavin Nugent · 24th April 2009, 11:38 PM

Jim,

I have not studied any where near enough on some matters, some times the info is just not there either. I know this "sunburst" feature is seen on some Japanese swords too, what era I can not comment, so for me it is a case of the chicken and the egg story, someone may drop in and tell me it was the rooster first though.

There are a few images in the History of Steel exhibition where the view presented does not show clearly the "sunburst" but its edges can be seen from the sword profiles.

http://www.arscives.com/historysteel...1/119-k026.jpg

http://www.arscives.com/historysteel...1/122-k009.jpg

http://www.arscives.com/historysteel...1/129-k032.jpg

Gav

20th April 2009, 02:22 PM	#1
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	Korean knife, part of my personal collection As Korean swords and knives are quite a rarity, I thought many here might be interested in viewing this lovely little knife from my private collection. The scabbard colour is not original to the piece as it has been re-lacquered. It is superbly crafted, sports a lovely razor sharp blade of very nice proportions and appears to be of considerable age. Comments most welcome as I would like to work towards identifying the exact age. Gav Attached Images

24th April 2009, 10:02 AM	#3
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	Thanks Jim. Outstanding points and references Jim, nice to see some expression of interest and dissemination of information about the lesser known items. Your notes as usual are well thought out, explained clearly and backed with reference, thank you. It certainly is unfortunate that with Korea and many other nations throughout time, that they suffered these losses at the hands of others and were concerned in other cultures their own hands. I think I can safely say as you indicated there is profound Chinese influence in this piece with regards to the scabbard decoration, one that I have seen go back a couple of hundred years. I certainly see the Korean factor present with the "sunburst" layers to the quatrefoil guard and the double "sunburst" layers to the pommel. However, I cannot offer much at all on this piece other than the images and simple comparative observations with other web references to point this to being a Korean knife because as you say there is zip zero zilch concrete reference material. There may be some more learned people out there on the subject? Gav

24th April 2009, 11:38 PM	#5
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	The Chicken or the Egg Jim, I have not studied any where near enough on some matters, some times the info is just not there either. I know this "sunburst" feature is seen on some Japanese swords too, what era I can not comment, so for me it is a case of the chicken and the egg story, someone may drop in and tell me it was the rooster first though. There are a few images in the History of Steel exhibition where the view presented does not show clearly the "sunburst" but its edges can be seen from the sword profiles. http://www.arscives.com/historysteel...1/119-k026.jpg http://www.arscives.com/historysteel...1/122-k009.jpg http://www.arscives.com/historysteel...1/129-k032.jpg Gav

23rd April 2009, 07:27 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,946	Hi Gav, What an absolutely breathtaking knife!!! and while I dont know a great deal on these, I thought I'd add a few notes while we await the usual stampede to express opinions and observations!! I think the most difficult weapons to identify must surely be Korean, as they really dont adhere to set patterns and reflect mostly styles of the Chinese as well as the Japanese who occupied them from 1910-45. Most of the heirloom weaponry was destroyed to eradicate and subjugate the culture from what I understand, but certainly examples remain. In this piece, profound Chinese influence of the Manchu's Qing dynasty prevail. The scabbard and its mounts are of the typical yuan shi qiao (rounded end scabbard) common to late 18th throughout the 19th century in China. These are seen on many of the remounted sabres with goose quill and willow leaf style blades. The pommel cap reminds me of the hats worn by Manchu's and it seems of a style (commonly termed horses hoof) seen on the familiar sabres with 'oxtail' blades so commonly seen after the Boxer Rebellion. The quatrefoil style guard is seen also on a number of these oxtail swords, but it seems those are not solid piece like this. The red lacquering on the scabbard is also often seen on these Chinese scabbards. It does seem that in some conversation long ago I was told Koreans had a particular affinity for applying red to thier swords. Naturally since I cannot substantiate that, it remains simply a curiosity aroused by seeing this piece. What is most unusual and attractive is the Japanese style blade resembling those loosely in profile, and the very decorative habaki (blade collar). It would seem as noted, difficult, to classify this as distinctly Korean, but seems very plausible with the combining of element influences in the reflective culture of Korea. I wish there was more research material or resources on Korean items, but even the single article ever written on them by J. Boots in 1934, does not address much on general identification, only early history mostly. All the best, Jim

24th April 2009, 11:13 PM	#4
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,946	Thanks very much Gav. Interesting points on the sunbursts, which I noticed but hadnt realized Korean significance. Are there comparitive examples in other Korean material culture with this feature? I guess really the best place to look is in references on Korean arts and crafts where such similarities might be found. All the best, Jim