HISTORICAL DESIGN AUTHENTICITY:
I would call this saber an interpretation of the original pattern as opposed to a reproduction, since it appears to be a composite of blade and fittings designs from different Qianlong court sabers. This is not meant as an unfavorable comment. It's a positive in that to knowledgeable eyes, it is what it is and there's no chance that a century from now, these things are going to be passed off to the unsuspecting as "the real McCoy".
The blade design is the distinguishing mark of this saber, and it's based on a small number of originals, probably designed by Qianlong himself and produced in the Imperial workshops at an indeterminate date during his reign. I am aware of just a few examples:
1. Example with gilt openwork iron fittings with foliate and beaded borders, embellished with gemstones, without scabbard, in the Beijing military museum
2. An almost identical one, with scabbard, ex-Robert Hales Antiques Ltd., present whereabouts unknown
3. Same blade in gilt iron mounts of slightly different style, with scabbard, sold at Christies HK, 2002, present owner unknown
4. Same blade in associated, later mounts, without original scabbard, private collection, US.
5. One or two partially-complete specimens, utilizing same blade patterns, in private collections, PRC
Huanuo's version has a blade based quite closely on all of these. The exceptions are in the most minor details:
1. The entire dorsal portion of the blade is gilt in the case of the Huanuo blade; the originals are selectively gilt with individual dots in each of the serrations. Each dot being an inlaid gold plug hammered into a minute blind hole. There are a gazillion of these plugs, and I can see why it would be economically prohibitive to reproduce this detail today in any production sword.
2. The entire dragon cartouche at the forte is likewise gilt, as opposed to just the raised dragon being gilded as on the originals.
3. The gilding is electroplate, as opposed to mechanical gilding (gold leaf applied to a finely crosshatched ground).
The fittings on the Huanuo saber are fangshi (angular pattern), openwork, in the same motif seen on examples 1 and 2 cited among the originals above. However, the motifs are denser and the base metal is brass, not iron. The guard is somewhat smaller and thinner (though still robust by any standards), and the pommel is higher than on originals 1 through 3. The pommel, along with the scabbard chape, have dimensions which are no doubt taken from the Grand Review
Shuangshoudao (two handed sabers) made for the Qianlong court. The aesthetics of the Huanuo reproductions are attractive, in the spirit of the era, and present a unitary appearance in terms of form and style.
The grip on the Huanuo saber is somewhat longer than that on all the known originals, by about an inch or two. On one of the originals (#3) the grip wrap survives and it is the imperial golden yellow. On #1 and 2 the cord has disappeared; on one, the underlay is black leather and the other, natural rayskin.
WHAT I FIND IMPRESSIVE.
First off, the blade is impeccable. It's of laminated construction, the pattern clearly visible, and the grinding and polish are as close to "faultless" as one can hope for in a production sword. Ditto for the detail work on spine and forte. This rivals custom work!
The rayskin on the scabbard of my example is extremely well matched. In fact it gives the appearance of being made of a single hide, which is remarkable considering the size of the scabbard. If it's composite, then exceptional care was taken to match the grain pattern, because whatever natural variation there is, the grains are graduated in a way that does not suggest being made of separate pieces joined under the fittings.
The gemstones used in the fittings appear to be real stones, not paste. The coloration and polish are quite good. On my example, they look far better (in terms of color) than the ones seen on the images posed here.
The fittings are gold plated and not painted as is the case with Huanuo's "Golden Peony" and other deluxe jian.
Overall fit and finish is quite good. The weapon is solid and parts are well-aligned. Oh, yes, it balances quite well; the longer grip no doubt helps.
WHAT I'D LIKE TO SEE:
In other reviews, the chief criticism of Huanuo's product line has been occasional lapses in finishing. This is the case here, although some the faults I find are easily correctible:
1. Some of the gemstones are not glued in very neatly. Excess glue appears around the base of the cabochons, spilling over the bezels!
2. The rayskin came as shiny as the varnish on the rail of a racing yacht, not at all like the muted ivory-like sheen of the antiques.
3. The cord wrap is done right over naked wood. No leather or rayskin underlayer as we know to be the case with 2 original examples. Furthermore, the cord should have been yellow.
4. Although the quality of the fittings casting and quality is generlly quite good, there are some tool marks on he undecorated portion of the tiliang (suspension bar)
I managed to fix faults 1 and 2. An exacto knife can trim the excess glue, with a bit of patience, although for a sword of this price, the customer shouldn't be the one to have to do it! The rayskin can be rubbed down with 0000 or 000 steel wool for a perfect surface texture. This takes only a few minutes.
RATING:
All in all, this saber is a pleasure to own, and this is coming from a guy who's an antiques snob and has tended to stay away from replicas. For those of us, snobs or not, who can never hope to own a complete original in this lifetime or next, this piece is more than merely adequate. Hmmm, maybe I need to shop around for an imperial throne with a tiger-skin rug under it, just like Q. had! And grow a pigtail while I'm at it...
