Bronze sword, jian, with a round hollow grip surmounted by a disk pommel. Below the grip is a rhombic-shaped guard which serves also as the base of the hilt. Blade has green and brown patina, is double-edged accentuated by a central ridge, which is nearly rhomboid in cross-section, tapering to a sharp point. Four Chinese characters, yang zi zuo gong, in seal script are inscribed on the blade below the guard.
This bronze sword was probably used as grave goods, as swords of this type were excavated in some tombs in South China. Bronze weapons were used as burial goods for the high rank aristocrats in the Chu kingdom during the Eastern Zhou period. Providing the deceased with their personal belongings marked a belief in the afterlife.
fighting
