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A very rare long
slender bronze sword from the Dong Son period in
Vietnam.Vietnamese bronze artifacts date back almost
as far as those from China, most notably from the
Dong Son era famous for its bronze drums and
daggers. The sword's patina is typical of other
early Vietnamese bronze and the blue crystals of
copper minerals are often found on ancient
Vietnamese coins. The sword is long
measuring 67 cm. in length. The blade is relatively
narrow compared to Chinese Warring States
swords making the sword light weight. Light
weight is desirable in swords as they can be moved
faster. Residual signs of a wooden sheath in which
the sword was buried can bee seen near the hilt.
Smoother parts of the blade suggest the sword had a
polished surface. It's interesting to compare the
bronze sword to what little remains of an iron
sword also of Vietnamese origin. See lower right
image. Iron swords often had bronze hand guards
cast around their iron blades at the hilt.
The only thing left of this iron sword is the
bronze hand guard (right, in image). The iron
blade has completely rusted leaving only signs
of rust inside the hand guard. Images Left: Side view showing full
length of sword at 67 cm.
Details Proof of authenticity is seen in this blowup of the bottom part of the blade near the hilt showing impressions of wooden fiber grains from a wooden sheath in which the sword was buried.
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