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Single sword Two swords with sheath Handles of two swords Blades of two swords (click for full size)

My dad found these two swords while working on a millionaire's home. The past home owner had been a sword collector and my father found it under the floors. I have no information on them and haven't found anything like them online. What kind of swords are they and where do they come from?

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    Can you add anything about the materials used on the hilt? Do the blades look like they carried an edge?
    – Steve Bird
    Oct 5, 2018 at 9:33
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    Please supply their measurements (e.g. length) and take close up photos of the hilt from both sides, as well as the markings and the metal parts on the sheath. If possible take them under a better light. Also, it's probably easier if you just lay them down flat on a table or some flat surface. When you try to fit the whole blade in a photo, the blurriness of the camera at required distance makes it difficult to see some details.
    – Semaphore
    Oct 5, 2018 at 10:30
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    I'd be curious for more info on the previous owner too, if you have it. I'm betting there's an interesting story behind why they felt the need to hide them under the floorboards...
    – T.E.D.
    Oct 5, 2018 at 11:22
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    I have some experience in antiques and decorative arts (not swords). I always tell people to research what they have, but this has a few hallmarks of being a cheap tourist item. I would not get overly excited. The poor carving and the oddly mirrored "etching" (someone accidentally "flopped" the transfer on one of them) are pretty good signs they are not valuable. I am not familiar with the glyphs, but they look almost like what someone thinks chinese glyphs look like. In any event, in the US, transfer of ivory (even for free) is basically illegal under a great many circumstances, so beware.
    – Yorik
    Oct 5, 2018 at 17:37
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    @Alice Do you have trouble with image formatting in the source code view of this question? – Your last two edits cannot be seen as an improvement in effect. Oct 6, 2018 at 18:23

1 Answer 1

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That looks like a Chinese double sword

Similar examples


Note. In many countries, mislaid belongings still legally belong to the original owner (or their heirs), not to the building/land owner and not to the finder.

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    I concur - looks like a jian. Scott Rodell has a couple of books on Chinese swords, but the one sentence summary is that the infantry can master dao (single sword) in 100 days, but a noble will still be learning the jian after 10000 days. Your local Tai Chi or kung fu school probably offers instructions in jian (double sword).
    – MCW
    Oct 5, 2018 at 16:36

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