2,400 Year-Old Jade Sword Fittings?

[Alanus]

Hello, John

I'm not sure of the original color, perhaps white or yellow with a greenish hue. I photographed them late in the day, and the last rays of sunlight gave the orange hue that is not visible under artificial light. Here is a photo I lifted from Thomas Chen's excellent website, showing the orange staining on Han era fittings, basically from iron-rich soil. The colors are off, redish, due to the poor quality of a photo of a photo of a photo. :whistle:

[attachment=12145]Hanjadefittings2.jpg[/attachment]

After I created this thread with the initial post, I went back to the seller's online store because I hadn't checked it for a week. This is what I found, and it shows the color of the scabbard slide from the same sword as photographed by artificial light.

[attachment=12146]DSC03202_zpslpegqvgg.jpg[/attachment]

I was amazed, clicked on the "Buy it Now" icon and bought it. Two hours later, I received a message from the seller. He or she thanked me for the purchase and informed me that a 4th piece was originally with the set. It was still available: he gave me the item number and asked if I wanted it. If I bought it, he would ship it in the mailing packet. Here is the 4th piece-- making a complete set of sword fittings.

[attachment=12147]DSC02815_zpszk11ks01.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=12148]DSC02816_zpsfrolioks.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=12149]DSC02817_zpsqdxyejsl.jpg[/attachment]

This is the sword's pommel. In the last photo, you can see the translucent orange "pumpkin" color of the stained nephrite plus the holes drilled for attachment to the top of the grip. The scabbard slide was described as a "Official's Jade Belt Buckle," and the pommel was an "Ancient Chinese Amulet." If these pieces are authentic, and I think they are, this makes an incredibly rare complete set of Zhou era sword fittings. I'm absolutely astounded, not only by the high possibility of authenticity but by the dealer's haste in getting these pieces out of China in a big hurry.

The best source on these fittings is William Trousdale's "The Long Sword and Scabbard Slide in Asia," Smithsonian Bulletin 17, 1975. He classifies the style of these fittings as the "single hydra" type, mentions swords as small as 16 inches, and places the bronze-bladed era as 450-250BC. These are the direct ancestors of the Type I Late Sarmatian sword, and the scabbard slides were also adopted by the Romans and other Europeans.