Another interesting dha

Ian · 12th July 2014, 07:30 PM

This auction ended today and concerned an unusual dha. Our fellow Forumite, Nathaniel, brought this one to my attention, so I will leave it to him to comment about its specific features. Also posted are pictures of one that I picked up a few months ago. It has a similar handle to the one that sold today, although mine has a D-guard instead of a small disk. Here are pictures of the one that sold today.

Ian · 12th July 2014, 07:33 PM

This D-guard sword is similar to the one that just ended.

Battara · 12th July 2014, 10:44 PM

Again the dha freaks are back!

spiral · 13th July 2014, 11:48 AM

Love the top one!

Spiral

Nathaniel · 14th July 2014, 05:07 AM

Hello Ian. Nice daab/dha. It's very interesting to see the full tang with horn scales secured with pins. As you know typically most dha/daab are a blind tang. The full tang daab come from the Tai minorities in Yunnan. Often Yunnan blades are sold to the other Tai goups, such as in northern Burma, so that is most likely where the blade then picked up the Burmese/Shan writing on the blade. Very good sword. Congrats to the new owner

And also thank you Ian for showing your very unique dha with the D guard. Great piece! Love the Running tiger mark.

Ian · 14th July 2014, 05:44 AM

Nathaniel, you are being too modest!

A few months back Nathaniel wrote to me about the "running tiger" mark that can be seen at forte on the D-guard dha I have posted here. Based on another sword that I had posted about 10 years ago, which had the same mark and a Chinese inscription, Nathaniel and a friend tracked down the origin of that sword and the "running tiger" mark. They came from a Shan area in southern Yunan and the sword there is called a "Husa dha."

Here is the earlier discussion: http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001243.html

The two examples in this post would seem to come from the same area. The D-guard sword has a full tang hilt with horn scales that are attached with three pins. This sword has the "running tiger" mark, indicating its origin in the Shan area of southern Yunnan. The other sword has an identical handle and is presumably from the same area. Both could reasonably be considered Husa dha.

Props to Nathaniel for sleuthing this out.

12th July 2014, 07:30 PM	#1
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,203	Another interesting dha This auction ended today and concerned an unusual dha. Our fellow Forumite, Nathaniel, brought this one to my attention, so I will leave it to him to comment about its specific features. Also posted are pictures of one that I picked up a few months ago. It has a similar handle to the one that sold today, although mine has a D-guard instead of a small disk. Here are pictures of the one that sold today. Attached Images

12th July 2014, 07:33 PM	#2
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,203	And mine for comparison This D-guard sword is similar to the one that just ended. Attached Images Last edited by Ian; 13th July 2014 at 05:22 AM.

14th July 2014, 05:44 AM	#6
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,203	Running Tiger mark Nathaniel, you are being too modest! A few months back Nathaniel wrote to me about the "running tiger" mark that can be seen at forte on the D-guard dha I have posted here. Based on another sword that I had posted about 10 years ago, which had the same mark and a Chinese inscription, Nathaniel and a friend tracked down the origin of that sword and the "running tiger" mark. They came from a Shan area in southern Yunan and the sword there is called a "Husa dha." Here is the earlier discussion: http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001243.html The two examples in this post would seem to come from the same area. The D-guard sword has a full tang hilt with horn scales that are attached with three pins. This sword has the "running tiger" mark, indicating its origin in the Shan area of southern Yunnan. The other sword has an identical handle and is presumably from the same area. Both could reasonably be considered Husa dha. Props to Nathaniel for sleuthing this out. Last edited by Ian; 14th July 2014 at 06:12 AM.

12th July 2014, 10:44 PM	#3
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,226	Again the dha freaks are back!

13th July 2014, 11:48 AM	#4
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	Love the top one! Spiral

14th July 2014, 05:07 AM	#5
Nathaniel Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 865	Hello Ian. Nice daab/dha. It's very interesting to see the full tang with horn scales secured with pins. As you know typically most dha/daab are a blind tang. The full tang daab come from the Tai minorities in Yunnan. Often Yunnan blades are sold to the other Tai goups, such as in northern Burma, so that is most likely where the blade then picked up the Burmese/Shan writing on the blade. Very good sword. Congrats to the new owner And also thank you Ian for showing your very unique dha with the D guard. Great piece! Love the Running tiger mark.