Crossing Swords

Might and Magnificence Ceremonial Arms and Armour Exhibition.

Am I pining for days gone by when I was a student? I don't know, but I'm back to university again, the second time in a week. Last time it was The Chinese University of Hong Kong, this time it is The City University of Hong Kong.

I've been to this university before to visit an exhibition about silk. This time I am back to the same gallery, but a different exhibition. This one is all about ceremonial weapons.

The University is right next to a large shopping mall called Festival Walk and as I arrived a bit early, I had a wander around there first. It was already decorated for Christmas. In fact they had one of those puzzling displays I really don't understand. This one was celebrating Hangyodon. Apparently he's a male fish created by Japanese company, Sanrio. They are also the makers of Hello Kitty and My Melody. I had never heard of him, but I photographed him nonetheless.

Hangyodon.

Hangyodon display.

Hangyodon's eyes keep changing.

Hangyodon.

Kids posing with Hangyodon.

Posing with Hangyodon display.

Hangyodon gift shop.

Stitch, from Lilo and Stitch.

After a quick wander, I headed to the university. I knew what to do this time. I just had to scan my QR code to get in. I remembered the best route to the museum was through the pretty Chinese Garden with its pavilions, waterfalls and greenery.

Chinese garden.

Chinese garden.

Chinese garden.

Chinese garden.

I was still a little early, so I had a wander around the campus. There was some live music going on. I took a look, wandered to the swimming pool then headed back and into an area of the university I hadn't visited before. This one had quite an interesting Christmas display and an exhibition about the university's links with Sham Shui Po.

Live music.

Christmas decorations.

Christmas decorations.

Swimming pool.

There were bells ringing everywhere I went, but noone was paying any attention to them. Then there was an announcement saying the fire alarm had turned out to be a false alarm. When I headed back outside, a fire engine was just leaving. I headed to the exhibition which was on the eighteenth floor of the Lau Ming Wai Academic Building. I already knew where to go, as I've been before.

This exhibition was called 'Might and Magnificence: Ceremonial Arms and Armour Across Cultures'.

Might and Magnificence.

We generally think of weapons as being something that's used in battles, but ceremonial arms are quite different. These are created for reasons other than warfare. They could be a symbol of wealth, status or power. They could be used in religious or cultural ceremonies. They could be presented to people from other countries as a symbol of friendship or respect. Ceremonial arms are generally much more ornate than ordinary weapons. They may be made using precious metals or expensive jewels. They are generally beautiful to look at and they are normally made by expert craftsmen.

Golden horse headed weapon.

Dragon headed weapon.

Jade horse headed weapon.

Elephant headed weapon.

This exhibition had almost two hundred examples of weapons from various different countries. Mostly these were Asian countries, but there were some African and European ones too.

Sri Lankan animal hilt.

Arm protector.

After the introductory section explaining what ceremonial weapons were, there was a section about the techniques used to create them. It began by pointing out that sometimes it's the tiny imperfections in an object that makes it valuable. A machine can produce thousands of objects that are identical in appearance and quality, but if objects are fashioned by hand, each one will be unique.

Many different techniques can be employed to make ceremonial arms. One technique is inlaying, which involves creating recessed areas on the surface of the weapon's base metal, then filling these in with precious metals. Then there's overlaying which involves applying a thin layer of precious metals over the base metal. Gilding is a kind of overlaying where the base metal is covered with gold. Enamelling involves fusing powdered glass onto the surface of a metal using high levels of heat. There's also a technique where metal can be hammered on the underside to raise it in different shapes on the upper side. Then there's piercing and openwork which involve carving intricate designs into metal, or cutting certain sections away using saws, chisels or drills. There are also several techniques for adorning metal with precious stones.

Bejewelled figure on the hilt of a sword.

This section was very interesting. I had never really thought about how much work goes in to creating an ornate metal object before.

The next part of the exhibition displayed weapons and armour from different countries and talked about some of their similarities and differences.

The first section displayed arms from the Ottoman Empire. These would be worn by the Sultan and his janissary guards among others. A common weapon from this time was the yataghan - a long sabre with a curved blade and no guard (guards protect the user's hand) between the handle and the blade. Ceremonial yataghan were often decorated with geometric or floral patterns.

Yataghan.

Weapons from The Ottoman Empire.

Weapons from The Ottoman Empire.

Weapons from The Ottoman Empire. Some decorated with lapuz lazuli.

There was a section with weapons from Africa and The Middle East. This section included jambiya - daggers with short curved blades. These originated in Yemen, where males over the age of fourteen traditionally wore these as part of their clothing.

Yemeni Jambiya with sheath and belt.

Jambiya.

Jambiya.

My favourite section was the display of Indian weapons. I loved these because of the animal designs on the hilts of many of the swords. Indian royalty would wear their weapons to show their important status and would use them in religious ceremonies and cultural festivities.

Tiger headed weapons.

Elephant hilt Indian weapon.

Lion hilt Indian weapon.

Tiger hilt Indian weapon.

Indian sword with animal hilt.

Detail on Indian sheath.

The most famous of the Indian weapons is the katar - a type of push dagger with an H-shaped horizontal handgrip.

H-shaped Indian Katar.

H-shaped Indian Katar.

There was also a section on The Himalayas. This included weapons from Nepal, where the most famous is the khukuri. The khukuri is a knife with a distinct recurve in its blade. Khukuri are used for fighting, for ceremonial purposes and as a cutting tool. The khukuri is associated with the Gurkha regiments, who use them in rituals , festivities and parades. They even have a dance featuring them. There were also some unusually shaped weapons from Tibet

Gurkha Khukuri.

Gurkha Khukuri.

Tibetan weapons.

Tibetan weapons.

Tibetan weapons.

Stirrups.

The Chinese section contained, among other things, paintings, a suit of armour and bows and arrows that would have been used for hunting.

Chinese armour.

Chinese paintings.

Chinese weapons.

Chinese bow and arrows.

A lot of the arms on display in the Japanese section were produced during the Edo period when Japan was fairly unified and peaceful. At this time weapons were regarded more as a symbol of rank, power and wealth, rather than as a tool for fighting. The Japanese section also featured masks and helmets.

Japanese mask and helmets.

Japanese helmet.

Closer look at the Japanese mask.

Japanese weapons and stirrups.

There was a section for other areas of South East Asia. This included weapons from Thailand, Indonesia, The Philippines and Myanmar.

One of these weapons is from the Philippines and it's decorated with American coins.

Indonesian Kris

Siamese sword.

Decorations on Thai scabbard.

The final section talked about the effects colonialism had on weapons production when Eastern craftsmen adjusted some of their designs to suit European tastes and the fact that those from the east and those from the west learned about different weapons and techniques from each other.

A more modern weapon.

Swords from colonial times.

Dagger from Colonial times..

Weapons presented as gifts in Colonial times.

After the exhibition I returned to Festival Walk to do a little bit of shopping. I noticed there was a Harry Potter popup shop. I'd have liked to look inside, but as it was the shop's opening day, so it was by invitation only.

Harry Potter popup.