QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

The current type of knife was originally used as a hunting knife by the Manchus, although intricately decorated versions such as the present example were more likely intended for ceremonial use by the Qing Emperors or high-ranking Manchu nobles. A Qianlong-period imperial knife with jade handle and gold scabbard decorated with turquoise, coral and lazurite inlays in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated by C. Ho and B. Bronson in Splendors of China’s Forbidden City: The Glorious Reign of Emperor Qianlong, Chicago, 2004, p. 201, no. 248, where an alternative use is noted: “The use of personal knives at meals was a mark of Manchu identity. When eating sacrificial pork, not only men but also women were expected to cut up their own meat.” These small knives are known to have been worn suspended from the belt. A similar knife and scabbard suspended from an imperial court belt is illustrated ibid. p. 59, fig. 52 and another is shown in a detail image from an official portrait of the Qianlong emperor in full regalia, p. 59, fig. 53.

Two other ceremonial court belts from the Qing dynasty with suspended accessories including similar knives in fitted scabbards are in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and illustrated in Qing dai fushi zhanlan tulu (Catalogue of the Exhibition of Ch’ing Dynasty Costume Accessories), Taipei, 1986, pp. 114-15, nos. 32 and 33.