Saber and Scabbard 17th–18th century Sino-Tibetan This saber and matching scabbard are distinguished by a unique combination of Tibetan, Mongolian, and Chinese features, executed with great skill and harmoniously united in a single object. Most important is the distinctively pattern welded blade, a technique which involves purposely forging together iron and steel of different properties to produce particular patterns that are visible throughout the surface of the finished blade. In this example, the center of the blade has a classic Tibetan hairpin pattern, named for the series of nested line
Saber and Scabbard 17th–18th century Sino-Tibetan This saber and matching scabbard are distinguished by a unique combination of Tibetan, Mongolian, and Chinese features, executed with great skill and harmoniously united in a single object. Most important is the distinctively pattern welded blade, a technique which involves purposely forging together iron and steel of different properties to produce particular patterns that are visible throughout the surface of the finished blade. In this example, the center of the blade has a classic Tibetan hairpin pattern, named for the series of nested lines that form the body of the blade. The edge of the blade has a tooth-like pattern, called tiger teeth or horse teeth and is characteristic of Chinese and Mongolian blade forging techniques. The weight, shape, and form of the blade, particularly the distinctive tip, are Mongolian in influence. These features do not appear to be combined in this way on any other blade. The suspension bands and the suspension bar are characteristic features of Chinese scabbards, but are sometimes found on swords made in Tibet, possibly for use in Eastern Tibet or China and influenced by the styles favored in the western provinces of China and in engraved and damascened decoration of the hilt and scabbard fittings are on a par with the best metalwork of this type from this period in Central Tibet. The finely pierced and inset silver panels of the locket and chape are an unusual feature; pierced panels of this type are usually iron with scrollwork that is more simplistic and crude. The overall form of the hilt, including the langet on the guard, and the shape of the locket and chape have their closest parallels in a finely made silver mounted sword in the Victoria and Albert Museum (no. , published as no. 67 in LaRocca, Donald J. 2006. Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.), which belonged to Lord Curzon,
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