Covered box for sword with scabbard

1. (Jenny F. So, Entry for draft catalogue for Paul Singer Collection, 1960-70?)

557
Box
Eastern Zhou dynasty, 5th--4th century B.C.
Wood
Length 63 cm (24 11/16 in.)

The box is carved from a single piece of wood.  The cover has a fluted design on both ends, which are joined by a plain section in the middle.  Traces of paint are barely visible on the cover.  The box contains remnants of a pale yellowish silk wrapping and two strips of bamboo, possibly the only remains of the scabbard.  The box is now warped.
 Similar wood boxes are also frequently found with such swords.  Examples have been found at Changsha, Hunan Province.1   JFS

Published: La Plante 1958, no. 100; Chêng Tê-k`un 1963, pl. 31e; Loehr 1965, no. 118; Fontein & Wu 1973, no. 39.

Note
 1.  For Changsha, see Xin Zhongguo de kaogu shouhuo 1961, pl. 65: 1; for Jiangling, see Wenwu, no. 5 (1966): 41, fig. 13: 7.

2. (Daisy Yiyou Wang, 12/28/2011). A comparable wooden container of sword was found in the Warring States period tomb in Zuojiagongshan, Changsha in 1954. See "Changsha Zuojiagongshan de Zhanguo muchun mu." Wuwu cankao ziliao, no. 12 (1954): 3-19, figs. 13 and 14. The box is 72cm in length, and 8 cm in width. In comparison, the Singer box appears smaller, but also its size might have been affected by warping or shrinking. Notice the similar design on two box covers with a rectangular section in the middle, and fluted ends. The Zuojiagongshan box originally contains a sword in a sheath, and the cover and container were bound together with a silk chord/band. In the burial context, according to Wuwu cankao ziliao, no. 12 (1954): 4, the box containing the sword was kept with other burial items in the compartment left to the coffin.

3. (Daisy Yiyou Wang, 04/02/2012) The book by Barnard, Noel. Scientific Examination of an Ancient Chinese Document as a Prelude to Decipherment, Translation, and Historical Assessment-The Ch'u Silk Manuscript. Canberra: Department of Far Eastern History, Research School of Pacific Studies, Institute of Advanced Studies, 1972 includes analyses of the silk fiber and /or weave structures of MLS2028, bonnet, mittens, and kerchief reported from the Singer lacquer box (RLS1997.8. 1001)  in the Cooper Hewitt Museum collection, and silk fragments on the underside of the lid and thread from the small plait of silk tabby strips inside the box of RLS1997.8.1001, the wrapping fabric in the box and the fabric on the now disintergrated scabbard of RLS1997.48.3144a-b,  and the silk cording (chan hou) around RLS1997.48.4870.1in the Paul Singer collection.

4.  (Nie Fei, Head of the Department of Scientific Research, Hunan Provincial Museum 05/04/2012) It is very rare to have an intact sword box. In Hunan, several examples have been discovered and are in the collections of the Changsha City Musuem and Hunan Provincial Museum, and I have divided them into 4-5 types. Inside the box were probably the remains of a wooden sword with the butt, rather than the sheath. The silk fragments were probably remains of the wrapper. The cording is very interesting. For comparison, see Hunansheng bo wu guan compiled. Changsha chu mu. Beijing: Wen wu chu ban she, 2000.

5. (Daisy Yiyou Wang, 01/28/2012) title changed from " Box with cover and fragments of archery bow(?)" to " Covered box for sword with scabbard"; period one added "Warring States period"; date changed from "5th-4th century BCE" to " 4th-3rd century BCE"; place of origin changed from " China" to " Probably Changsha, Hunan province, China"; medium changed from " wood" to "Wood, bamboo, silk, and lacquer ".

6. (Keith Wilson, February 14, 2024) “Although there is no conclusive proof that this bronze sword, jade scabbard chape, and wood box with strips of bamboo (S2012.9.2401.1, S2012.9.2401.2, S2012.9.2401.3a-b) were unearthed together, they have repeatedly been presented as a group in publications beginning as early as the 1950s. In fact, similar assemblages have been documented in the archaeological record. Consequently, they have been catalogued as a group here pending further research.”