Damascened Sword And Scabbard

Object Details

Donor Name

King Maha Mongkut

FROM CARD: "THERE IS A SIMILAR, BUT MORE ELABORATE SWORD OF THIS TYPE PRESENTED BY THE SAME KING TO PRES. JAMES BUCHANAN IN 1861 AND THANKED FOR BY PRES. AB. LINCOLN, WHICH WAS RETAINED BY THE STATE DEPT. AND LATER DEPOSITED IN THE COLLECTIONS OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, WHERE IT NOW IS. -MARCH 1969. THE DESCRIPTION IN THAT LATER GIFT FITS THE GENERAL TYPE OF THIS SPECIMEN: "AN IRON SWORD MANUFACTURED IN SIAM AFTER THE FASHION OF THE FAMED JAPANESE SWORDS, DONE IN BLACK AND GOLD NIELLO.." THE SPECIMEN AS CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED IN THE MUSEUM IN APRIL 1969 WAS AS FOLLOWS: A HEAVILY DAMASCENED BLADE OF IRON WITH THE DAMASCENED PATTERN IN PROMINANT RELIEF. SINGLE EDGED, SLIGHTLY BACK CURVED WITH A FAIRLY BROAD POINT. HANDLE IS OF TWO PIECES OF WOOD COMPLETELY COVERED WITH PUNCTATE SHEET BRASS (IN IMITATION OF THE RAY SKIN ON THE JAP.[ANESE] SPECIMENS). ON TOP OF THIS ARE THE TWO SMALL CAST DECORATIVE ORNAMENTS BOUND DOWN BY THE ALMOST COMPLETE WRAPPING IN BLACK AND WHITE BRAIDED SILK TAPE, WHICH ALSO HOLDS ON THE GILDED SILVER BUTT CAP. AT THE INNER END IS A BAND OF THE SAME METAL AS IS THE HEAVY GUARD (TSUBA) WITH INCISED FLORAL DESIGNS. (THESE DESIGNS WERE ORIGINALLY FILLED IN WITH BLACK NIELLO ENAMEL BUT NOW ONLY FAINT TRACES NOW REMAIN BECAUSE SOMEONE IN THE PAST WITHOUT ANY KNOWLEDGE HAS REMOVED ALL THE ENAMEL -- ROBERT ELDER) THE SCABBARD IS A SINGLE PIECE OF HOLLOWED OUT WOOD (INSTEAD OF TWO PIECES AS IN THE JAPANESE ONES) IN NATURAL COLOR, AND HAVING THE SAME GILDED SILVER TIP AND REAR BAND. CALLED "KEW" WOOD."

FROM CARD: "WHEN THIS WAS ORIGINALLY ENTERED IN THE ANTHROPOLOGY CAT. BOOK IT WAS CALLED A PART OF THE MATTHEW PERRY COLLECTION INCORRECTLY. ONLY EXAMINATION OF THE RECATALOGING REVEALED CORRECT IDENTIFICATION. INVENTORIED 1968."

Illustrated and described in McQuail, Lisa. 1997. "Treasures of Two Nations: Thai Royal Gifts to the United States of America" Smithsonian Institution. p. 84

Information from Toshihiko Suekane, Norifumi Mochizuki and Melissa Rinne of the Kyoto National Museum 11/17/2015: The blade is not gilded silver but gold-silver alloy; there was no niello, the previous record is incorrect. The braided cord wrapping in the hilt is braided from navy or black silk and metal-wrapped (gold or silver?) white silk threads. Various aspects of this sword are different from existing swords of the type in Thailand: damascened blade, spacer etc. The metal used for the hand guard is an alloy of gold and silver (nearly half and half, lightly more gold) 60-70% gold. The blade is 96% iron with a small amount of nickel. Very accurate duplication of Japanese blade attributed evidences detailed understanding of Japanese production techniques. The construction of the blade is three layers. One layer in the center for the blade wrapped in another layer. Designs on gilded mounting fitting: peony (scabbard) stylized peonies, Chinese-style flowers on the hand guard. The scabbard is beech wood with varnish-like finish seemingly one piece – remarkable craftsmanship. The hilt peg (menuki) holes seem to exist but they are in fact imitations made to resemble these holes. The blade was definitely made in Thailand because of the presence of nickel. It has an outstanding shape, a blade ridge and various elements represent sophisticated understanding of Japanese swords. The plain scabbard is an anomaly. Normally high-ranking diplomatic gifts should have cloisonné scabbards or at least gold or black lacquer. Very specific ranks were awarded specific materials.

Record Last Modified

17 Jul 2018

Specimen Count

2

Culture

Siamese

Accession Date

9 Mar 1859

Accession Number

266032

USNM Number

E101-0

Object Type

Sword / Sheath

Place

Thailand, Asia

See more items in

Anthropology

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

Topic

Ethnology

Record ID

nmnhanthropology_8327132

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/32e58edb7-9a43-4b64-b11b-1f31d984239d