Period:Qing dynasty Production date:19thC
Materials:brass
Technique:
Dimensions:Length: 395 millimetres Width: 295 millimetres (strings extended) Width: 69 millimetres
Description:
Coin-sword. Made by tying together numerous Qing dynasty coins on to a metal rod. Damaged on handle, and on the sword-blade, but the hangings are secure: (1) hanging for affixing to wall, (2) two coins hanging from handle, (3) eight coins and three coins hanging. The coins are secured by means of green and red strings. The coins are mostly Qianlong (1736-95) and Jiaqing (1796-1820) period issues.
IMG
![图片[1]-coin-sword BM-2005-0908.1-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Qin dynasty/Miscellaneous objects/mid_COC195871_Coin_sword.jpg)
![图片[2]-coin-sword BM-2005-0908.1-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/Qin dynasty/Miscellaneous objects/mid_coc195871.jpg)
Comments:“What is commonly called a Cash-sword is considered very efficacious in keeping away evil spirits. It is often hung up on the front and the outside of the bridal bed-curtain, in a position parallel to the horizon. About the time of a woman’s confinement, a cash-sword is sometimes taken and hung inside of the curtain. This sword is usually about two feet long, and is constructed out of three kinds of things, each of which is regarded as a preventive of evil spirits: 1st. Two iron rods, about two feet long, constitute the foundation of the sword. 2d. About one hundred cash, either ancient or modern (if ancient, or if all of the same emperor’s reign, so much the better), are ingeniously fastened on these rods, concealing them from view. The rods are placed in the centre, and the coins are tied on the outside in two rows. 3d. Red cords or wires are used in tying on the cash. These three kinds, joined together in the shape of a sword, make a really formidable weapon, of which the maliciously-disposed spirits are exceedingly afraid!”Justus Doolittle (edited and revised by Paxton Hood), “Social Life of the Chinese. A Daguerrotype of Daily Life in China” (London: Sampson Low, Son, and Marston, 1868), p. 563, coin-sword illustrated on p.565.https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=gIfVAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&authuser=0&hl=en_GB
Materials:brass
Technique:
Dimensions:Length: 395 millimetres Width: 295 millimetres (strings extended) Width: 69 millimetres
Description:
Coin-sword. Made by tying together numerous Qing dynasty coins on to a metal rod. Damaged on handle, and on the sword-blade, but the hangings are secure: (1) hanging for affixing to wall, (2) two coins hanging from handle, (3) eight coins and three coins hanging. The coins are secured by means of green and red strings. The coins are mostly Qianlong (1736-95) and Jiaqing (1796-1820) period issues.
IMG
Comments:“What is commonly called a Cash-sword is considered very efficacious in keeping away evil spirits. It is often hung up on the front and the outside of the bridal bed-curtain, in a position parallel to the horizon. About the time of a woman’s confinement, a cash-sword is sometimes taken and hung inside of the curtain. This sword is usually about two feet long, and is constructed out of three kinds of things, each of which is regarded as a preventive of evil spirits: 1st. Two iron rods, about two feet long, constitute the foundation of the sword. 2d. About one hundred cash, either ancient or modern (if ancient, or if all of the same emperor’s reign, so much the better), are ingeniously fastened on these rods, concealing them from view. The rods are placed in the centre, and the coins are tied on the outside in two rows. 3d. Red cords or wires are used in tying on the cash. These three kinds, joined together in the shape of a sword, make a really formidable weapon, of which the maliciously-disposed spirits are exceedingly afraid!”Justus Doolittle (edited and revised by Paxton Hood), “Social Life of the Chinese. A Daguerrotype of Daily Life in China” (London: Sampson Low, Son, and Marston, 1868), p. 563, coin-sword illustrated on p.565.https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=gIfVAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&authuser=0&hl=en_GB
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![[Qing Dynasty] British female painter—Elizabeth Keith, using woodblock prints to record China from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China—1915-China Archive](https://chinaarchive.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-191x300.png)
