Edo period,
8.57 cm (3 3/8 in.)
Bronze
ChinesePolished dark stone
3rd millennium BCEChineseMalachite- and azurite-encrusted bronze blade; greenish, brown jadelike guard
5th-3rd century BCEChineseSteel with traces of copper
16th-17th centuryIndianBronze
ChineseCast bronze
11th century BCEChineseGold
4th century BCEGreekIron
JapaneseElectrotype of bronze original with gold and silver; inlaid
19th-20th centuryMycenaeanElectrotype of bronze original with gold and silver; inlaid; repoussé
19th-20th centuryMycenaeanLeaded copper
5th century BCEGreekBronze, the hilt inlaid with sheet gold
Chinese