3307 - Tuanlian Jian

Militia Sword
28" Blade, 34" Overall

The blade inlaid with seven brass dots, representing the seven star constellation that points to the pole star, of sanmai construction with a wavely pattern welded body mounted in solid iron fittings & with a wood grip. Overall in very good condition. Over the years I have encountered a number of jian similar to this piece. Mounted in what might be called rudimentary iron fittings, & always lacking a scabbard, yet with substantial well forged blades. Furhtermore, while the blades are of good qualty, they are never finely finished, & as in the case of this example, often show signs of having seen combat. Some of these jian appear to be quite old. Overall, they appear to be of provincal origin, constructed in a utilitarian fashion with combat in mind, quite unlike jian that tend to be assoicated with the literati. This combination of a good quality blade with simple yet very functional hilt, has lead me to believe that these jian were mounted locally for use by village militia. This would explain why one has yet to appear with an associated scabbard. In other words, they were not personal arms, meant to be carried on a regular basis, but were likely stored at a barracks & issued when needed. As a practitioner of Chinese Historical Swordsmanship, I find such jian quite interesting, as they likely represent the type that were most often used by the average man when forced to defend his home.

$965