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Sword and Scabbard
Probably Chinese, 14th–15th century
Iron, gold, silver, wood, leather
L. overall 35½ (90.3 cm), blade L. 30 in. (76.2 cm)
Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds (XXVIS.295)
cat. no. 55
This sword ranks among the most elaborate
and artistically accomplished examples of decorated ironwork
from China or Tibet. At the center of the scabbard there
is a narrow band decorated with Sanskrit characters reading
khadgaratna (literally, “sword jewel”),
an alternative name for the Precious General, the last of
the Seven Jewels of Royal Power, which are symbolic attributes
of monarchy, both spiritual and temporal. The presence of
this name could mean that the sword was made for presentation
to a Tibetan ruler, such as one of the Phagmodrupa, who
were the predominant power in central Tibet from 1358 to
1434.
Detail: Close up
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