Chinese Nuweidao Saber from the Collection of the Nizhny Novgorod State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve
https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2026-25-3-99-106
Abstract
Purpose. This article presents the exemplar of Chinese bladed weapons from the collection of the Nizhny Novgorod State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia). Previously, this subject has not been the object of scientific analysis. In the course of the research, features of blade’s design have been analyzed in order to clarify the origin and time of its creation.
Results. The blade with scabbard from the collection of the Nizhny Novgorod State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve (inventory numbers of items – GOM-7100-1 and GOM-7100-2) was found during storage verification. The source of the acquisition by the museum is unknown. The scabbard is made of two wooden planks covered with black leather. The leather is damaged in places. It is attached to the sword belt with a yellow metal hanger (brass or bronze). The blade is in good condition, without rust, with darkening in places. The cross-guard is an oval plate with a massive wide rim. At the base of the blade, on both sides, a scene common in China in the second half of the 19th century is engraved: a dragon playing with a pearl.
Conclusion. The analysis of the blade's design features allows to confidently identify it with the Chinese saber niuweidao 牛尾刀. The sabre and scabbard appear to be genuine. It is assumed that the sabre and scabbard are trophies brought back by Russian troops in 1901 from China, where they participated with other colonial countries in suppressing the Boxer Movement 義和團運動 (1899–1901). Also, it is possible that the saber was purchased at the Nizhny Novgorod fair, where other goods from the Qing Empire were brought in addition to tea.
Supporting agencies: The study was performed as the part of the realization of the State task of the Ministry of Science and High Education of the Russian Federation in the field of scientific activity under project no. FSUS-2025-0009 “Features of the formation of intercultural communications in Siberia – from the Stone Age to the early modern period (according to archaeological and written sources)”
About the Author
B. A. Ilushin
Novosibirsk State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Boris A. Ilushin, Candidate of Sciences (History)
References
1. Anisimova M. A. Oruzhie Vostoka XV – pervoi poloviny XX veka [Weapons of the East from the 15th to the First Half of the 20th Century]. St. Petersburg, 2013, 526 р. (in Russ.)
2. Bobrov L. A. Zashchitnoe vooruzhenie imperatora Xuanye [Armour of Xuanye Emperor]. Vestnik NSU. Series: History and Philology, 2016, vol. 15, no. 7, pp. 158–168. (in Russ.)
3. Bobrov L. A. Dospekh man'chzhurskogo aristokrata pervoi poloviny – serediny 17 v. [Armour of Manchu Noble of the Early to Mid-17th Century]. PARABELLUM novum, 2021, vol. 14 (47), pp. 60–82. (in Russ.)
4. Bobrov L. A., Ozheredov Yu. I. Dospekh voina Dzhamsarana. Tsentral'noaziatskii pantsir'-“kuyak” iz sobraniya MAES TGU [Armor of the Dzhamsaran Warrior. Central Asian Armor-“Kuyak” from the Collection of the MAES TSU]. Novosibirsk, NSU Press, 2021, 228 p. (in Russ.)
5. Bobrov L. A., Khudyakov Yu. S. Evolyutsiya zashchitnogo vooruzheniya chzhurchzhenei i man'chzhurov v periody razvitogo i pozdnego Srednevekov'ya i Novogo vremeni [Evolution of the Armour of Nuzhen and Manchu in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Time]. In: Arkheologiya Yuzhnoi Sibiri i Tsentral'noi Azii epokhi pozdnego Srednevekov'ya [Archaeology of Southern Siberia and Central Asia in the Late Middle Ages]. Novosibirsk, NSU Press, 2003, pp. 66–212. (in Russ.)
6. Karlova E. M., Pastukhov A. M., Popov A. Yu., Uspenskaya E. N. Smertel'naya krasota. Oruzhie Indii i Kitaya. Katalog vystavki [Deadly Beauty. Weapons of India and China. Exhibition Catalogue]. Moscow, GMV Press, 2015, 368 р. (in Russ.)
7. Myasishchev S. E. Tipologiya kitaiskogo odnolezviinogo oruzhiya po materialam kollektsii Voenno-istoricheskogo muzeya artillerii, inzhenernykh voisk i voisk svyazi [Typology of Chinese Single-Edged Weapons Based on Materials from the Collection of the Military History Museum of Artillery, Engineering Troops and Signal Corps]. Para bellum, 2001, no. 13, pp. 25–46. (in Russ.)
8. Pastukhov A. M. K tipologii rukoyatei kitaiskogo klinkovogo oruzhiya – “pistoletnaya” rukoyat' kak datiruyushchii priznak [On the Typology of Chinese Bladed Weapon Handles – The “Pis-tol” Handle as a Dating Feature]. Teoriya i praktika arkheologicheskikh issledovanii [Theory and Practice of Archaeological Research], 2017, no. 3 (19), pp. 69–90. (in Russ.)
9. Pastukhov A. M. Sablya imperii Tsin: osobennosti khronologii i morfologii [Saber of the Qing Empire: Features of Chronology and Morphology]. Vestnik NSU. Series: History and Philology, 2024, vol. 23, no. 7: Archaeology and Ethnography, pp. 96–104. (in Russ.) DOI 10.25205/1818-7919-2024-23-7-96-104
Review
For citations:
Ilushin B.A. Chinese Nuweidao Saber from the Collection of the Nizhny Novgorod State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve. Vestnik NSU. Series: History and Philology. 2026;25(3):99-106. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.25205/1818-7919-2026-25-3-99-106
Views:
126
JATS XML
Email this article 