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William M




Location: Buckinghamshire , England
Joined: 01 Dec 2004
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PostPosted: Thu 06 Jan, 2011 2:01 pm    Post subject: A seaxy tanto?         Reply with quote

Hi all,

I found this very unsual looking tanto at the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford. When I saw it I was instantly struck by how much it resembled a broken back seax.

The broken back and swollen belly makes it very unusual for me.

Anyways here are some pictures. The museum is extremely dark and so I tried to take as many photos as I could with my phone pressed against the glass.



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Simon G.




Location: Lyons, France
Joined: 02 Jun 2008

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PostPosted: Thu 06 Jan, 2011 2:10 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Interesting, William... Any information on this piece from the museum? Date, etc. ?

Cheers,

Simon
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William M




Location: Buckinghamshire , England
Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Likes: 1 page
Reading list: 7 books

Posts: 267

PostPosted: Fri 07 Jan, 2011 4:26 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Hi Simon,

The Pitts Rivers museum is a museum of a victorian museum! As such it has precious little details on the exhibits. Most of them saying generic things like "Japanese tanto" etc... So sadly there was no information that I saw of this unusual blade.
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Simon G.




Location: Lyons, France
Joined: 02 Jun 2008

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Posts: 238

PostPosted: Fri 07 Jan, 2011 4:40 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Ah! I see. If so, would it be possible for this piece to in fact be a non-Japanese blade mounted on a tanto (or tanto-like) handle? Or even a Japanese creation but European-inspired? At the end of the 19th century, notably after the Meiji revolution, many European things were copied in Japan. Without any date available, it is quite possible that this piece falls into one of these categories. The blade and handle don't seem very old, or they are the weapon exceptionnaly well conserved.
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Eric S




Location: new orleans
Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Reading list: 8 books

Posts: 805

PostPosted: Fri 07 Jan, 2011 5:01 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Here is a link from another forum discussing a similar tanto. http://www.swordforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104036
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Peter Johnsson
Industry Professional



Location: Storvreta, Sweden
Joined: 27 Aug 2003
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PostPosted: Fri 07 Jan, 2011 11:15 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Here is an image of another example of the same type of Tanto.
It is from this site, that sells antique japanese blades:
http://www.e-sword.jp

I do not know of a name for this specific type of blade. It has interesting geometry.
This particular blade is dated to late Edo period and I think was made by the smith Yamato Nara.
Blade length is 18.2 cm.



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Tanto.jpg

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Eric S




Location: new orleans
Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Reading list: 8 books

Posts: 805

PostPosted: Sat 08 Jan, 2011 1:44 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Peter Johnsson wrote:
Here is an image of another example of the same type of Tanto.
It is from this site, that sells antique japanese blades:
http://www.e-sword.jp

I do not know of a name for this specific type of blade. It has interesting geometry.
This particular blade is dated to late Edo period and I think was made by the smith Yamato Nara.
Blade length is 18.2 cm.
Very interesting, I couldnt find pictures of this on the site, do you have any pictures of the fitting?
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Peter Johnsson
Industry Professional



Location: Storvreta, Sweden
Joined: 27 Aug 2003
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PostPosted: Sat 08 Jan, 2011 4:21 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Here you go:

Full mounting and some close ups.
All from the said site.
I saw this some time ago, and the dagger must now have been sold. I went back myself to confirm some details, but noticed it was gone.



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TantoMounting.jpg


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MountingDetail.jpg


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TantoHabaki.jpg

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Eric S




Location: new orleans
Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Reading list: 8 books

Posts: 805

PostPosted: Sat 08 Jan, 2011 5:28 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Thanks, I would like to find out if there is a name for this shape of blade.
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