CAMBODIAN DHA (From previous thread)

[kahnjar1]

Further to the previous thread started by Ariel, I have now received the 2 that I was successful on, and also submit the other I already had from the same source for comment. Will deal with each seperately so that individual comment can be placed. To start, here a couple of pics of all three. The top one obviously does not have its original scabbard, but this was the scabbard with it at time of purchase in Phnom Penh.
The blades are as they arrived, and have not yet been submitted to the pineapple juice.

[kahnjar1]

As previously stated the scabbard is not the original. The hilt is woven brass wire with lacquer top and bottom and an iron "bell" shaped pommel cap. The brass "tsuba" is somewhat crudely caste, certainly not up to the class of Japanese Tsuba I have seen.

[kahnjar1]

A truely nice piece. The Hilt is worked silver (lacquered), over wood, and the scabbard mouth is silver (very tarnished) as are the scabbard bands.

[kahnjar1]

This one is from the same seller from a previous auction, and was collected with the others in Cambodia. A plainer item but still nice. The blade has marks ON ONE SIDE ONLY, which include a small round copper insert (tarnished), which can be seen to the right of the blade pic. The hilt is rattan bound. The scabbard has replacement brass bands, but one of the original rattan bindings still exists.

[Mark]

All very nice dha. I think the first is definitely Cambodian. The other two I would say are from Laos or Northern Thailand. They have simple handles, the blades lack a "waist"a and the distinct break in the curve at the forte, they have no guard, and the scabbard toe is not upswept.

The silver work on the second one resembles very much the work on the badik under discussion here, a very timely addition to that thread.

[Andrew]

I agree with Mark. Only the first one is of Cambodian origin.