ANTIQUE CHINESE FISHERMAN'S FOLDING KNIFE IRON DONGBEI PROVINCE CHINA 19TH C.

Description

GJPaw
Auctions is very pleased to offer an antique wood (?) and iron Fisherman’s folding knife, with leather strap, from Dongbei or Shanxi Province, China.
In Chinese society the fisherman represents one of the four basic occupations, along with farmer, scholar, and woodcutter. The legendary Fu-Xi is said to have been the first to introduce the Chinese to catching and eating fish. The value of the fisherman, who provides the Chinese with their major source of food along with rice is clear from Shao Yong's famous "Talks on Fisherman and Woodcutters" (c.1050). Also, in Chinese the word for fish is a homonym for wealth or abundance, so the fisherman can have greater symbolic meaning of self-reliance when seeking fortune. In China as in many cultures, knives have dually been utilized as both a weapon and an eating implement since prehistoric times. A basic pre-modern fixed or folding knife would comprise of the
blade
; the
handle
; the
point
- the end of the knife used for piercing; the
edge
- the cutting surface of the knife extending from the point to the heel; the
grind
- the cross section of the blade; and the
spine
- thickest section of the blade. Early blades were usually made from rock, bone or flint, and later bronze, copper and iron. Prior to modern times, most handles would be made from either wood or bone, the latter being preferred due to the lack water absorption.
This powerfully evocative folding knife is made of wood (?) and iron and measure 12 inches in width by 1 inch in depth (30.4 cm by 2.54 cm), including the leather strap. It
shows wear consistent with use, but overall is in very good condition, dating probably from the mid to late 19th century. It is guaranteed authentic and form part of an important collection of Chinese art, objects and furniture.
GJPaw
Auctions has been in the Art business for over 25 years and is now expanding its operation to eBay.  Our goal is to bring the same experience and excitement of collecting that we have been delivering in-person to collectors across the globe at
Primitive
in Chicago.  Every object we sell online has been carefully hand-selected with special attention to detail, quality, and significance. We ship worldwide.
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A0910-059