twin swords; sword sheath

Set of twin swords, yin yang jian,and a scabbard. Each sword has a wooden grip, brass pommel and butterfly-shaped guard. The wooden grip is semicircular in cross-section and inlaid with two brass floral motifs. The blade is straight and pointed, triangular in cross-section, and is double-edged with a central ridge. The scabbard is made of wood covered with shagreen, mounted with a brass locket decorated with cloud collar and coin designs.

Twin swords of this type were held one in each hand to confuse the enemy during a fight. See p. 287, Zhou Wei (1957), 'Zhongguo bing qi shi gao', Beijing.

fighting

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
24.291
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
scabbard: 693 mm; swords: 838.2 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
steel; wood; shagreen; brass
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
SHAREABLE LINK

Continue exploring anthropology

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk