Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is an exquisitely impressive Chinese Boxer polearm with a gorgeously crafted head with an Octagonal base with two small 4” wavy blades and one large 12½” wavy blade. The polearm consists of a 35½” long detachable metal head which attaches to a 71” polearm, with an overlap of roughly 8½”. This example is of its original length, with most of these being shortened before being brought back. The design of the head is very unique, and is very thick & strongly made. As these were all handmade, no two are alike.
The octagonal headpiece of this example has been engraved with a spiderweb like design with a yingyang symbol in the center on both sides. This design is very similar to the Feng Shui Ba-Gua board, which is a fantastic addition to an already phenomenal polearm. The interior appears a bit loose as the two smaller blades jiggle a good bit. For late 19th century China, this is exquisite craftsmanship!
This example is in very good condition, and has stood the test of time beautifully. During the Boxer Rebellion, pretty much any type of weapon that could be found was put into service, so even outdated field weapons such as these were used.
Thankfully, the head of this polearm does detach, and the space where it would have originally been riveted to the pole is covered with black tape in order to wedge the head to the pole. The pole itself has some heavy cracking towards the bottom, and was original painted black as shown here, although the paint is certainly worn in some spots.
American soldiers in the Boxer Rebellion were noted as having been quick to take Chinese souvenirs including daggers, flags, ephemera, whatever they could find, and one lucky soldier was able to bring back this phenomenal polearm in its original length. Pieces from the Boxer Rebellion do not show up often, and ones like this are certainly one-of-a-kind. Don’t miss out on this exemplary piece of history. Comes ready for further research and display.