Jian (sword)

Culture Chinese

Dateabout 500 BCE (Eastern Zhou Dynasty)

Mediumbronze, gold and copper

Dimensions55.9 × 4.7 cm (22 × 1 7/8 in.), 1 lb 15 oz (weight)

ClassificationsArms and Armor

Credit LineThe John Woodman Higgins Armory Collection

Terms

Object number2014.608

DescriptionDisk pommel engraved within with concentric rings. Solid handle with two ring-rolls. Integral, cast three-stage grip. Guard with rounded shoulders, rhomboid in section and dipping toward blade. Straight blade, rhomboid in section with bevelled edges. Third of blade closest the point is narrowed & becomes slightly ogival in section. The sword guard is inlaid with geonetric shapes in a metal that has been gilded.
Label TextChina developed metallurgy independently of the Middle East, and in many respects Chinese metalworking for much of history has been in advance of the rest of the world. The sheen on the blade of this high-status sword suggests that it was made of a high-tin bronze, in contrast to the lower tin content of the hilt. High-tin bronze was commonly used in China--sometimes to enhance the surface, as in tin mirrors, but here probably to increase the hardness of the blade.ProvenancePurchased by J.W. Higgins Armory from Herbert J. Devine, 59 East 57th Street, New York on May 15, 1936. Also purchased in the lot were HAM# 2323-2326. Collection transfer from Higgins Armory, Janaury 2014.

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