Thai "katana"

[Mark]

I recently visited the Asian Arms collection of the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of Natural History, and had the rare opportunity to examine a daab that was presented to President Franklin Pierce (President 1853-1857) by King Mongkut (Rama IV) of Siam. It has been on loan to the Museum of American History for many years, but was returned to the Natural History Museum's archive during renovations at the American History Museum.








The catalog entry states:

FROM CARD: "THERE IS A SIMILAR, BUT MORE ELABORATE SWORD OF THIS TYPE PRESENTED BY THE SAME KING TO PRES. JAMES BUCHANAN IN 1861 AND THANKED FOR BY PRES. AB. LINCOLN, WHICH WAS RETAINED BY THE STATE DEPT. AND LATER DEPOSITED IN THE COLLECTIONS OF THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, WHERE IT NOW IS. -MARCH 1969. THE DESCRIPTION IN THAT LATER GIFT FITS THE GENERAL TYPE OF THIS SPECIMEN: "AN IRON SWORD MANUFACTURED IN SIAM AFTER THE FASHION OF THE FAMED JAPANESE SWORDS, DONE IN BLACK AND GOLD NIELLO.." THE SPECIMEN AS CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED IN THE MUSEUM IN APRIL 1969 WAS AS FOLLOWS: A HEAVILY DAMASCENED BLADE OF IRON WITH THE DAMASCENED PATTERN IN PROMINANT RELIEF. SINGLE EDGED, SLIGHTLY BACK CURVED WITH A FAIRLY BROAD POINT. HANDLE IS OF TWO PIECES OF WOOD COMPLETELY COVERED WITH PUNCTATE SHEET BRASS (IN IMITATION OF THE RAY SKIN ON THE JAP. SPECIMENS). ON TOP OF THIS ARE THE TWO SMALL CAST DECORATIVE ORNAMENTS BOUND DOWN BY THE ALMOST COMPLETE WRAPPING IN BLACK AND WHITE BRAIDED SILK TAPE, WHICH ALSO HOLDS ON THE GILDED SILVER BUTT CAP. AT THE INNER END IS A BAND OF THE SAME METAL AS IS THE HEAVY GUARD (TSUBA) WITH INCISED FLORAL DESIGNS. (THESE DESIGNS WERE ORIGINALLY FILLED IN WITH BLACK NIELLO ENAMEL BUT NOW ONLY FAINT TRACES NOW REMAIN BECAUSE SOMEONE IN THE PAST WITHOUT ANY KNOWLEDGE REMOVED ALL THE ENAMEL -- ROBERT ELDER) tHE SCABBARD IS A SINGLE PIECE OF HOLLOWED OUT WOOD (INSTEAD OF TWO PIECES AS IN THE JAPANESE ONES) IN NATURAL COLOR, AND HAVING THE SAME GUILDED SILVER TIP AND REAR BAND. CALLED "KEW" WOOD.
FROM CARD: WHEN THIS WAS ORIGINALLY ENTERED IN THE ANTHROPOLOGY CAT. BOOK IT WAS CALLED A PART OF THE MATTHEW PERRY COLLECTION INCORRECTLY. ONLY EXAMINATION OF THE RECATALOGING REVEALED CORRECT IDENTIFICATION. INVENTORIED 1968.

Nihon-to became very popular among the upper class in Siam, so much so that the King issued a royal edict stating that if nihon-to were wore, they must have traditional Siamese design elements. As a consequence, you now find nihon-to with koshiri which overall resemble Japanese mounts, but on closer examination follow a Siamese tradition. The present sword is particularly unusual in that the blade is in the style of a nihon-to, but is Siamese-made, using a forging technique that is used in Malaysia & Indonesia to make keris blades. As for the fittings, the saya is a single piece (without seams), meaning it was drilled out and carved to shape. Rather than plum blossoms or chrysanthemum, there is a lotus motif. The shagreen is actually metal, textured to resemble shagreen. The habaki consists of straps wrapped at the base of the blade, rather than a collar set over the base and tang. There is only one seppa. The kurikata is very small, almost a button. The sayajiri is much narrower and more rounded than what is typical in a nihon-to. The tsuba has a vestigial ana, even though there are no scabbard accessories (kogai, wari-kogai, etc.). A truly unique sword.

[DhaDha]

Amazing. Thank you.

[Joe]

Under any other circumstances, I would've assumed that this sword was a modern Chinese fake.

But as long as the documentation can be verified, I suppose it must be authentic. A fitting gift for President Pierce, I suppose.

[josh stout]

Originally Posted by Joe

Under any other circumstances, I would've assumed that this sword was a modern Chinese fake.

But as long as the documentation can be verified, I suppose it must be authentic. A fitting gift for President Pierce, I suppose.

You sure are right that it matches recent fakes in the pattern weld, etch, and the look of the tip. Franklin Pierce, (a distant relative) is not well regarded by historians so it was indeed a fitting gift.
Josh

[Andrew]

Thanks, Mark!

[Battara]

Originally Posted by Joe

Under any other circumstances, I would've assumed that this sword was a modern Chinese fake.

But as long as the documentation can be verified, I suppose it must be authentic. A fitting gift for President Pierce, I suppose.

I'm with you Joe.

[Mark]

The provenance is well-documented. Presidential gifts usually are. It was not recognized by the museum as what it was until 1969, but once identified for what it was, the documentation/provenance was good.

The blade really is exquisite, however the fittings are in my opinion sub-standard in their execution. Perhaps King Mongkut did not think much of Pres. Pierce, either. The workmanship on the metal fittings is rather rough, and do not have a good "fit and finish" with the blade and the scabbard. The scabbard in a couple of places has rough cut marks, for example around the notch cut for the kurikata, and where the chape joins the wood of the scabbard.

Now I want to see what I can do in order to see the one in the National Archives.

[Jim McDougall]

Hi Mark,
Thank you so much for posting this and for the historical detail explaining the presence of Japanese swords in Siam. I have heard of the influences of Japanese swords and decoration techniques though primarily trade and diplomatic interaction in the East Indies in 18th century, as well as degree of such influence in swords of Vietnam. I recall in one reference (which I still question but cannot recall details) which showed what appeared a katana and captioned as from India with an odd name. While the India assessment was apparantly incorrect, the sword shown must have been of this group.

It has always been fascinating to me when a weapon as distinctly indiginous as the Japanese katana appears in geographically distant and inconsistant cultural spheres. It seems that even in colonial New England one inventory lists a Japanese sword, and then there is of course the photo of Red Cloud at the end of the 19th century after the 'Indian Wars' with a katana mounted behind him on his wall.

All the best,
Jim