Subject: 士 shi warrior
Culture: proto-Chinese
Setting: Warring States, China 5th-4thc BC
Object: 短劍 short sword
Kimbell Art Museum > Passport to Asia *
"Sword handle China, Eastern Zhou period, 5th-4th century BC Iron and Jade
The majority of jade fittings were made to adorn the swords of nobles, which were hung from the belt
and secured to it with the aid of a slide attached to the scabbard. Sword fittings in jade started to be made around the fifth century BC.
Initially they were limited to jade handles into which iron swords were inserted, such as this handle,
in whitened jade and decorated with a pattern of intertwined snakes, a decoration often seen on jades made in South China."
Xinfei *
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* BK1425
