2,000 Year Old Ancient Chinese Bronze Battle Crossbow Trigger + 3 Bolts Han. Dy

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2,000 Year Old Ancient Chinese Bronze Battle Crossbow Trigger + 3 Bolts Han. Dy:
$495.00

Ancient Chinese BronzeCrossbow Trigger

and

Three Crossbow Bolts

Western Han Dynasty (206 BC--9 AD)

Over 2,000 Years Old!!

This small, bronzeCrossbow Trigger assembly is a wonderful example of early Chinese casting and ancient warfare.Chinese experts date theseamazing little Crossbow Triggersto theworkmanship,casting style, and genreofof Western Han Dynasty (206 BC--9AD) of ancient China. The dates are approximate, as it is difficult to precisely date these ancient bronze artifacts when they have been separated from other artifacts.It is a wonderful, Chinese cast bronze artifact that is at least 2,000 years old!

DETAILS:

This EXTREMELYRARE Ancient Chinese Crossbow Trigger assembly is made of several bronzepieces and is over 2,000 years old!That’s right, it’s early design dates approximately to the early WesternHan Dynasty of ancient China that lasted from 206 BC—9 AD. I will also include 3 Ancient Chinese Iron Crossbow Bolt that have iron and bronze arrow points. This amazing grouping is sure to interest the advanced collector!

I Guarantee thislittle bronze trigger is 100% original and authentic! It will appraise as such by any qualifiedappraiser or museum. It has been matchedto existing examples on display in China’s finest museums. These little gems rarely come up for saleanymore—even at the finest sale houses.And when they do, they bring a lofty price tag of between $2,250 and$3,500! You can own this one for afraction of retail price!

Thisancient Chinese Crossbow trigger assembly is quite small and measures just 1.6”long x .44” wide x .76” deep and it weighs just .5 oz. or 14 grams. Please look carefully at the 4x macro photosthat include a US Dime to give you a better idea of its small size.

Chinesearmies used this Bronze Crossbow Trigger to hold the string and crossbow boltin the fully cocked and ready to fire position. This trigger assembly was made to fit downinto the wooden Crossbow stock, which has long ago rotted away. Master bronze craftsmen made thousands ofthese Trigger Assemblies to man the huge armies that existed at this time. Some experts believe the armies numbered over100,000 men!

What makes thisparticular trigger assembly really a super find is that it has been used inancient warfare and is NOT a tomb relic.One can clearly see signs of ancient stress and wear on the tinycomponents. Part of the Trigger Assemblyis missing when it broke over 2,000 years ago.These early Chinese Crossbow Triggers had interchangeable parts, so thetiny parts or the entire assembly could be placed in any standardized Crossbowstock. This is perhaps the first use ofstandardized, mass-produced parts by any people in the world and would helpChinese armies to conquer their enemies.

This ancientBronze Crossbow Trigger assembly is a wonderful example of early Chinesecasting and culture. Museums and modernarcheological studies usually use the general term “copper alloy” instead ofjust the term “bronze” to describe these ancient treasures, as many otherelements (such as tin, lead, zinc, iron, and even arsenic) were added to thecopper to form different strengths of types of bronze items. Bronze artifacts used in warfare, such asthis Trigger Assembly, are probably about 80% copper and 20% tin because theextra tin makes the bronze harder and more likely not to bend. For reference purposes, modern bronze iscloser to 88% copper and 12% tin.

The casting technique for making bronze weapons matured duringthe Spring & Autumn Period. Profiting from the high temperature technologyof pottery manufacturing and mature copper alloy technology, China’s bronzeweapons could be considered as among the best in the world from this periodonwards. In the later years during theHan Dynasty (206 BC—220 AD), these Crossbow Trigger Assemblies would be made ofiron and thus would be even stronger and less prone to failure.

This CrossbowTrigger has a beautiful, old patina with signs of oxidation of the two mainelements (tin and copper) that make up the bronze used in this piece. One interesting property of bronze is thatonce it has oxidized superficially, a copper oxide layer is formed on thesurface and essentially protects the object from further damaging corrosion.This protective layer turns in another compound, called \"copper carbonate\"for you scientists out there, that protects most bronze pieces from furtheroxidation. Close examination with amicroscope under natural and black light reveal it to be 100% authentic andcast by hand in a sand mold. Interestingly,the word \"bronze\" in Chinese means \"bluish copper.\"

CHINESE CROSSBOWHISTORICAL FACTS

PerhapsChina’s greatest war strategist, Sun Tzu, discusses the importance to thecrossbow in his book “The Art of War” that was first published in the 4thCentury BC. The crossbow is believed tohave been first introduced in about 400 BC.One of the first references is during the Battle of Ma Ling, which wasfought in 341 BC. During this battle,the victor’s army included over 10,000 crossbowmen that annihilated theirenemies because they could quickly, quietly, and accurately fire their crossbows at an instant’s notice,without having to draw their bows and arrows back and hold the position untilgiven the order to fire. Sun Tzu states in Chapter 5 entitled ENGERY:

“Thus themomentum of one skilled in war is overwhelming and his attack preciselyregulated. His potential is that of afully drawn crossbow; his timing; his timing, the release of the trigger.”

The use of shockand elite troops with new, more powerful weapons like the crossbowrevolutionized warfare in ancient China.The crossbow fired much heavier bronze then iron arrowheads that wouldhave easily penetrated any Chinese shield and even the finest Greek orMacedonian shields. In fact, manybelieve that it was the trained crossbowman that finally put the war chariotout of business. Different varieties ofcrossbows were also developed, such as the repeating crossbow, multi-shotcrossbow, and repeating multi-shot crossbow.

InSun Tzu’s day, armies were composed of swordsmen, archers, spearmen,crossbowmen, and chariots. Spears wereof two types—one 18 feet long and another shorter version just 9 feet long—butthey were used just for thrusting. Thisis because of the great accuracy and tremendous striking power of the Chinesecrossbow. Period records state that acrossbow had a range of 600 paces!

After casting the pieces to the trigger assembly, craftsmenwould then load the crossbow trigger mechanism into the wooden stock of thecrossbow and secure it into place with two bronze keys. This type of bronze housing is compact and hasthe advantage of putting no moving parts in contact with surrounding wood. While the load-bearing surfaces of contact aremaximized. These Trigger Assemblies werealso probably heavily-greased and highly resistant to moisture.

A bamboo bow was installed in front to provide the kineticenergy for the crossbow. The strength size of the bow was calculated by the ancientChinese unit \"Dan.\" According to the engraved inscription on one giantcrossbow, its “draw rate” or the effort needed to pull back the bow stringequaled the weight of \"eight Dan,” which is equivalent to 240 kilograms or529 pounds! Just to give you an idea ofhow powerful this this ancient crossbow was, a modern hunting crossbow only hasa draw rate of about 180 pounds.

This Crossbow Trigger has a beautiful, old patina with some signs of oxidation of the two main elements (tin and copper) that make up this exquisite ritual headpiece. One interesting property of bronze is that once it has oxidized superficially, a copper oxide layer is formed on the surface and essentially protects the object from further damaging corrosion. This protective layer turns in another compound, called copper carbonate for you scientists, that protects most bronze pieces from even corrosive saltwater.

I have carefully examined thisitem under 10x magnification and it also shows authentic and original signs of weathering and ground contact that help to further authenticate it as an ancient piece. I Guarantee this headpiece to be 100% authentic or your money back! You will not be disappointed! It is exceeding rare and museum quality ancient Chinese work of art.

It has a wonderful old, patina that is absolutely fabulous: a greenish patina from the malachite in the surrounding soil, some dark red patina from the cupite in the soil, and a bright blue color that is from the azurite in the soil.This combination of colors forms a fantastic patina that is typical of bronze that has been buried for over 2,000 years. Close examination with a microscope under natural and black light reveal it to be 100% authentic and cast by hand in a sand mold.

It is a wonderful piece and would look great displayed next to your other fine ancient Chinese jade and bronze pieces!

I hate to sell this one, as it is currently in my personal collection, but economic times are tough and I must do so.

Please examine the photos taken at 4x macro carefully as they are part of the description.

The stand is not included in this sale, but the 3 Iron Crossbow Bolts are!