Sword with padded hilt

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

556
Sword               
Eastern Zhou dynasty, 5th--4th century B.C.
Bronze
Length 42 cm (16½ in.)

The bronze sword is a fine example of the classic Eastern Zhou type with two sharp edges that taper to a point.  The tarnished blade is not patinated, and the edges are still razor-sharp.  Two collars mark the solid, tubular hilt.  Wood strips fill the space between so that silk braid would be sparingly used to wrap around the hilt.

Although not inscribed, the sword is closely similar to those inscribed to Wu and Yue kings of the late sixth and fifth centuries B.C.1  Swords uncovered in Hubei and Anhui provinces are also unpatinated.  Their pristine condition must be due in part to the superiority of the alloy and favorable burial conditions in the southern Chu soil.  The Singer sword is therefore likely to have come from the same cultural and geographical sphere.   JFS  

Note
 1.  Wenwu, no. 5 (1966): pl. 1: 2--3; Wenwu, no. 2 (1986): 64, fig. 1.
 
2. (J. Smith per Keith Wilson, 7/29/2008) Primary classification: Metalwork; secondary classification: Weapon and Armament.

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 RLS1997.48.3144a-b,  and the silk cording (chan hou) around RLS1997.48.4870.1in the Paul Singer collection.

4. (Daisy Yiyou Wang per Keith Wilson, 01/28/2012) title changed from "Sword" to "Sword with padded hilt "; period two 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 " Bronze and fiber" to " bronze with wood and silk".

5. (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.”