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Hello. This seems to be a knowledgeable forum. Thanks for the helpful information. I'm researching a beautiful wood carving or sculpture (I've seen these terms used interchangeably online) of what appears to be a 7-ring broadsword and stand. I assume it's Chinese based on the dragon and yin/yang symbols depicted in the carving, but I could be wrong. The stand is shaped like two dragons back to back. Their tails rise up and cradle the sword. The sword appears to be a solid piece of wood, including the rings. Both pieces are covered in some sort of dark brown lacquer that came off easily using my fingernail. Perhaps I should have left it intact, but I wanted to know what kind of wood it was carved from, so I exposed some of the wood. The wood used has two different tones, with lines running at different angles. The sword is approximately 28" long and about 7" high in the middle, yet it's incredibly light (around 40 ounces). There is absolutely nothing I can see that was put on either piece that identifies the artist, but in my opinion (you may disagree, as you can see for yourself from the pictures), the craftsman had considerable skill. I'd like to know what the forum thinks about this piece, and if anyone can identify the era, region, type of wood...anything definitive about it. Also, should I leave the finish on the wood? Is there any reason I shouldn't take it off?

Thanks!

The image of the entire sword failed to upload. My apologies...

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