Chinese Warring States period (c. 475 BC - 221 BC); a rare d...

Hammer

£200

Chinese Warring States period (c. 475 BC - 221 BC); a rare dagger blade and handle of dark patination and with verdigris, the tapering blade with subtle median ridge, the ricasso with various apertures and the tang with circular countersunk aperture, the upper section finely decorated in scrolling circles in relief within a pointed key-fret border, the vertical raised sections possibly depicting a phoenix or fen or similar style bird with long, scrolling tail feathers and decorated in relief both sides, for a similar lot see Bonhams San Francisco, 3rd December 2020, Lot 5124, presented within a custom-built box (23.5cm to tip of blade x 14.25cm across hilt). The Warring States period was an era of Chinese history characterised by extensive and ongoing conflict between a multitude of statelets and kingdoms which ultimately culminated in the Qin states victory and the first unification of China into a single empire.