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Help please with Asian art piece!

Going to the experts again. The art is about 12" x 17". It looks like watercolor to me but.. Came from the collection of an American couple who lived/worked in southeast Asia for many years in the 1960's-1970's. Looks to me to be a hunting scene (are those bears?). One mounted hunter has some kind of spear and the other has a spiked ball on a chain on the end of a pole. No marking apparent but there could be some under the matting? Maybe the attire will help? Thank you!  Mark

 

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Help please with Asian art piece!

There are no clear - cut records in ancient Chinese stories about two warriors fighting two bears. However, there are some stories related to warriors or brave men fighting bears: - **Gongsun Jie fighting a bear - like beast**: In the story of "Two peaches kill three warriors", Gongsun Jie, a general of Duke Jing of Qi, mentioned that he had fought wild boars, tigers, and bear - like beasts. At that time, Duke Jing of Qi asked Yan Ying to reward the three warriors Gongsun Jie, Tian Kaijiang, and Gu Yezi with two peaches. Gongsun Jie said that he had the merits of fighting wild boars, tigers, and bear - like beasts, so he took one of the peaches. However, the focus of the story is not on the detailed process of his fight with the bear, but on the plot of Yan Ying using a trick to get rid of the three warriors. - **Liu Xu, the son of Emperor Wu of Han, fighting a bear**: Liu Xu, the Prince of Guangling and the son of Emperor Wu of Han, had the deed of fighting a bear. He was born with extraordinary strength and liked to fight wild beasts. For this reason, he built a "bear garden" in his fiefdom of Guangling, where various bears were raised. He often entered the bear garden to fight with the bears. Finally, in a fight with a bear, because he encountered an especially fierce giant bear and was careless, he was caught by the bear's flaws and died tragically under the bear's claws. But this is also not a story of two warriors fighting two bears. Although these stories do not completely match the plot of two warriors fighting two bears that you asked about, they show the relevant content of ancient Chinese warriors fighting bears and other wild beasts.

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Help please with Asian art piece!

The costumes and weapons were from ancient China, but the paintings were probably drawn by the Japanese, because the knife hanging on the waist of soldiers seemed to be the standard Japanese samurai.

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Help please with Asian art piece!

Thank you! Would you have any idea what the weapon with a spiked ball on a chain on a long pole is called? 

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Help please with Asian art piece!

Help please with Asian art piece!

@amazinggracehsts 

 

I believe those weapons are called "flails" or "morning stars".

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Help please with Asian art piece!

Thank you both - I will do some more research!

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