Putting Sword Technology into Context (Part 2)

In a previous post, I discussed two sword types and the technology that made them possible. This week I go further East. I initially intended to cover two swords in this post. However, I have become too excited and written too much. Therefore, there will be a Part 3 covering Javanese Kris! Please keep in mind these are cursory posts, meant to whet your appetite. For even more information, refer to the sources below. Many of these are available online. Now, onto the post:

The term damascene mentioned in the last post will crop up in this one, as part of a conversation on slanted history. The way that Damascus steel was worked in the Islamic empires created a certain aesthetic: the steel, while perfectly sharp and strong, appeared rippled and veined.

Damascening is inlaying metals, sometimes with other metals. When 'damascene' was used to describe swords, it referred to a rippled appearance in the finished metal. Armor, decorative and mundane objects were also damascened as an aesthetically pleasing practice. I have encountered the term when working with books first printed before 1970 about swords from all over the world.

Chosyu clan Samurai, Felice Beato, 1860s.
Image in the Public Domain.

Rippled Blades from the Far East

Westerners love Eastern stuff. This statement has a lot of history, dating back centuries, arguably millenia. It is something I plan on exploring more in this blog. For now, however, I want to present the idea that Westerners love Eastern stuff within a certain time frame.

Orientalism is a term used for the collection of associations we as Westerners have for what the West terms the "MidEast" (generally in Europe). It can also include the generalizations Americans apply to the Far East. Orientalism is a complex and controversial set of ideas, but it is important to these conversations because the language used when describing instances of Orientalism apply to many of the cultures we in the West view as different from our own.

Kabuki actors in Samurai costume,
 Baron Raimund von Stillfried ca. 1880.
Image in the Public Domain.

I am only going to touch on one major idea of Orientalism in this post, but I encourage you to explore the idea on your own either by clicking the link above, or checking out one of the books listed in the sources below. Orientalism is generally marked by a sense of nostalgia for a particular time period of a different culture's history. For instance, the idea we get for a member of the Samurai class is stuck in a single era, with no room for deviation.

The term 'Samurai' leaves us with the image presented by directors like Akira Kurosawa in films that were inspired by American Spaghetti Westerns. Perhaps more famous than Samurai themselves are their curving blade: the katana.

Form and Function

Katana are truly amazing swords that did not appear suddenly, and were not as unique to sword technology as one might think. Instead these swords were the result of hundreds of years of adjustment and evolution. There were blades in Japan before this tradition, and manufacture of swords in Japan continue today. However, not without controversy, I will say that this particular blade's dynastic heritage is tied to the timeline presented below.

Japanese sword history begins with the Jokoto period, an indeterminate time period ending around 900 AD, and probably beginning in the 700s. Much of the culture of the dominate group in Japan was imported from the Asian mainland, including sword technology. Unlike the later native blades, these early examples were flat and designed for stabbing. The Japanese added their famous cutting edge and the earliest known Japanese-forged sword was born, the katakiri-zukiri.

The reason for this cutting edge overlapped with the reasoning behind the gradually introduced curve of the Japanese blade. Mounted warfare was on the rise, making stabbing weapons inconvenient. Slicing or cutting an opponent still takes time. It is therefore beneficial to create a blade shape that stays in contact with an opponent as long as possible.

Blades in Japan then underwent five more periods, extending into the present. Not only was the smithing spectacular, which will be covered later, but they were an improvement on tachi swords created in the previous era.

The katana's rise to supremacy is tied to a change in the way warfare was happening in Japan. Unlike earlier swords such as the tachi, this curved blade could be smoothly drawn and used to slice an enemy in one motion. Of course, weapons technology changes all the time.

In his book, Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior, Clive Sinclaire claims that the supremacy of the Japanese blade ended with the bombing of Hiroshima by the United States on August 6th, 1945. The atomic bomb terminated the era of many forms of warfare. However, the production of the Katana has slowed down and changed for more than that reason.

Other rationalizations for the fall of the katana involve its creation. The process takes an extremely long time (up to three months for a single sword), and involves several people with specialized training and roles. Use of the katana, like other technology, was also tied to a strict class system that has since died out in Japan. While authentic blades are certainly cool to own, the market for them has pretty much died.

Putting it in Context

'True' tachi swords were created during the Koto period, meaning before the 1600s. While the katana differed in function and time period, the differences from tachi are difficult to discern when not being worn. The major identifier of these subtly differing blades are where the signature is located in relation to the body. What makes this particularly difficult is that the blades are signed on the nakago. It's called a tang to Western sword uses: the length of metal is part of the piece that makes up the blade, but extends past what we would call the hilt and under the grip. So, this identifying feature is usually hidden.

Of course, katana had other differences. Otherwise, it would probably just be a subtype of the earlier tachi. Usually it was heavier in weight when compared to its overall length, and tapered less, creating a wider tip. While Westerners like you or I probably think of the katana as a particularly curved blade, the tachi was more so.

Blacksmith Scene, engraving, Edo period,
Museum of Ethnography of Neuchatel, Switzerland.
Image in the Public Domain.

Similar to the Damascus blades created during the period of time we call the Crusades, layers of steel of different qualities are worked over each other to create the single edged blade of the katana. The curved blades are created from a "jewel steel" called tamahagane, made from iron sand. This folded steel differs from the Wootz steel used by Damascus smiths in several ways that, honestly, are pretty complex to explain.

If you are able to understand scientific terms relating to the molecules and chemical processes involved in smithing and metal make up, check out this article from JOM ('The Member Journal of the Minerals, Metals & Matericals Society'). Otherwise, I will simply say that Damascus steel seems to draw strength from impurities in the source of ore.

Differently, the process of folding steel for katanas removes impurities and evens out the metal's carbon content. The billet that results usually has very little curvature. A katana's signature shape is achieved through repetitive hardening methods, including our old friend quenching.

While not named in the last Putting Sword Technology into Context, quenching is the process of putting hot metal into water (or sometimes oil) to sharpen and harden it. Part of why Ulfberht swords in Northern Europe were special was because they skipped this part of the process, though it would have been a normal part of working wootz steel into blades in the Mid East. The Middle East has its own curved blade, the sabre.

The trick with quenching, which Europeans had apparently not mastered at the time of the Vikings, is to make sure the blade does not cool at the same rate. This leaves the metal brittle. The process has to involve an insulator to ensure the edge cools more quickly than the spine. In the case of the katana that means a slurry of clay, ash, and some other materials was added in differing thickness to the billet before quenching. This process is called differential hardening.

Katana creation continues today, though due to heavy restrictions on sword smiths, China now dominates the market. The process described above is from the peak of katana creation, but this particular iteration of sword technology spans around 800 years, with many changes along the way. Today, most katanas are created using modern steel combinations and different smithing processes. Despite being connected forever to the image of the honorable samurai, perhaps during the 1500s (as in the case of Seven Samurai), katana actually has an international history that spans a variety of classes.

Sources

Cohen, Richard. By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers, Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions. New York: Modern Library, 2007

Nagayama, Kokan. The Connoisseur's Book of Japanese Swords. Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd., 1997.

Mcleod, John. Beginning Postcolonialism. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2010.

Said, Edward W. Orientalism. New York: Random House, Inc., 1978.

Sinclair, Clive. Samurai: The Weapons and Spirit of the Japanese Warrior. Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot, 2004.

Sullivan, Walter. "The Mystery of Damascus Steel Appears Solved." New York Times, September 29, 1981. Accessed January 5th, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/29/science/the-mystery-of-damascus-steel-appears-solved.html

Free Book of the Week: Swords

The first part of my short history of swords seems to have been a hit. So, this weekend's book picks will offer more information on that topic! These selections come from the online library of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For more information on the Met's fantastic Arms & Armor collection, visit the page dedicated to their Arms & Armor department, or visit the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History and take a stroll through the topics. This excellent resource offers short, academic articles on the history surrounding pieces in the Met's collection, and usually does a pretty solid job of putting objects in context.

The first "book" is actually an article in the Metropolitan Museum Journal. It offers more comprehensive information on Islamic blades, and as an added bonus, describes Islamic helmets. The article is downloadable by itself, or the entire volume is available for free, by visiting the Met Publications record: here.

The second book is downloadable as a PDF file. The "Arms and Armor from the Permanent Collection" edition of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, has rich, gorgeous pictures of objects from the collection. This includes some impressive swords in various states of battle readiness.

For those seeking tips on perfecting their thrust while continuing to look fabulous in a tri-corner hat, we have The Academy of the Sword: Illustrated Fencing 1500-1800. The illustrations alone are worth a look-through. The third book of the week is available to read online via Google Books.

Enjoy your weekend!

Image of a man & woman fencing,
from the Bain Collection in the Library of Congress.
Image in the Public Domain.

Free Book of the Week: Buddhist Art on the Silk Route

This will doubtless be a topic we return to again and again on this blog, as I am utterly enchanted by the history of the network of trade routes traditionally termed "the Silk Road." Spices, luxury goods, and religion were not the only things traded along those oasis lined highways. Civilizations were defined by the interactions and ideas supported by the Road. The amalgam of traditions borne by traders and pilgrims affected art in the civilizations involved for centuries.
Buddhism is a religion that was kindled into international life along the Silk Route. It took off in some way in nearly every culture it cam in contact with, and morphed into a system of beliefs that worked for them. This week, I have found a purely visual book from the Getty Research Institute. This Tibetan Pattern Book provides the traditional proportions of iconic Buddhist art in Tibet. For those interested in more information on the art styles Along the Ancient Silk Routes, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has made their publication on it free to read online, and also available for download.

A photo of a Buddhist dance,
captured on exhibition to Tibet by Ernst Schafer.
via the Bundersarchiv

On Owning Monuments

National Archives and Records Administration

George Clooney's Monuments Men should have been a victory for art history nerds everywhere: it shed light on a group of World War II heroes previously unknown to many, and was followed by a well intentioned demand by Clooney for the return of looted artifacts on display at the British Museum. For many, however, it fell short. First of all, the film was not very good. On top of a poorly written and realized script, the film failed to recognize is that many of the 345 participants in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program were women. It opts instead to follow a fictionalized female, meant to represent several real life characters.

Excluding females and other minorities from art history is an huge issue. But let's talk about Clooney's request of the British Museum, first.

The Elgin Marbles

A section of the Elgin Marbles. (From Wikimedia Commons)

It might be surprising to some to learn that many of the collections you have come to think of as defining the realm of art history can be considered looted. Such is the case with the "Parthenon Marbles" (or Elgin Marbles). The "Marbles" are the frieze sections of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. They were obtained by a Lord Elgin while he was working as an ambassador for Britain to the Ottoman Empire. Today, the museum stands by its rightful ownership of the Marbles by citing a document that has since been lost. According to Elgin at the time, he received legal permission to remove the frieze from the culturally important Greek building from the Ottoman government.
When thinking about this instance, it is important to keep in mind two things. First of all, the document in question cannot be found. Copies supposedly exist, but even these are possibly hoaxes. Secondly, this region of Greece was under foreign control at the time. This means that, did the government give permission to have these elements removed, the permission did not come from the culture that the history of the architecture belonged to. Thus today, Greece is demanding the return of their cultural artifacts on the grounds that they were illegally removed. Britain's saying no. And that's how Imperialism got it done.

How 247 feet of outdoor decoration from a 2,500 year old acropolis could end up 2,000 miles away from its home might seem suspect to those outside the museum atmosphere. The museum's refusal to return the pieces might appear even more heinous. However, this is actually a completely normal occurrence in the history of Western institutions. That's what this blog is going to be all about. The history of the collections of Western museums is fraught with suspect policies, thievery, and a healthy dose of seasoned adventurers who got it all done.

The Art Historian in Pop Culture

When I tell people that I am going in to Art History, I most often get a joke about becoming Indiana Jones. While I doubt I could currently outrun a boulder, the historical image of the people retrieving art objects is not far off from Professor Jones. Adventure in unknown and exotic lands is part of the Imperial Art Historical Mythos for a reason. However, the adventurers I will be talking about often enough will fall more in line with Laura Croft: independently wealthy, well educated people with singular interests in the history. Dual wielding pistols might even come into play more often than you think.
The people that compiled the art collections of the West were action heroes in the most basic sense. They had to survive on their wits and knowledge far from home. That being said, they are historically a privileged set with entirely dubious morals.

About Me & This Blog

For those of you that do not know me from previous work at Fempop, and my Babe in Armor Blogs, an introduction is necessary. I am a college drop out about to finish my first degree in Art History. I have an especial interest in the history of China, academically, and have done work for a couple of museums, including giving tours and research.

While I made a small name for myself as an internet commentator and reviewer of Nerd Culture, I have since replaced pop culture journalism with genre fiction. I operate from a strict moral code that includes, but is not limited to, Feminism with a capital 'F' (the intersectional kind). My writing is entirely biased, though I try to make my opinions informed ones.

This blog will explore the biased nature of art history. More importantly, it will tell the story of famous collections and the people that "discovered" them. I hope to supply arguments where I feel they must be made, and facts where I feel the reader should pick a side for themselves, or simply be informed. Each post will have sources linked in the articles, or cited at them end.

Looking forward to going on some adventures with you all!

--Josephine Maria--