Small dha (southern Laos)

[Iain]

Originally Posted by Ian

Iain, what is your estimation of this one's age?

Hi Ian, always a tricky question! The blade condition of course is partly a factor of a lack of proper storage and humidity but I do think it should be 19th century at a minimum, the brass handle at the guard is quite worn, always a good sign it was used for many years. I don't think its possible to be much more precise, except to say this style certainly dates back further than that but I tend to be conservative.

Originally Posted by Ren Ren

Hi Iain! Thanks for sharing this information!
The study of the regional characteristics of the swords of Laos is a new and very exciting topic for me. Laos includes three historical regions - Lanxang, Vientiane and Champasak. I have heard that Vientiane's swords are distinguished by their elegance and richness of decoration, because the royal court and the best craftsmen, armourers and artists were located there. The Champasak region (modern provinces of Champasak and Attapeu) was in active contact with the Khmer and Cham peoples, and their influence was noticeable there. I cannot say with certainty that this was the case in reality (for this I have too little information yet). But it looks quite plausible, and I think it is possible to waste time discussing it.

Hi Ren Ren, to be clear I am not saying that this daab is necessarily from Vientiane, but that some collectors identify the type with that area, personally I think it is hard to be that precise with the limited knowledge we have and a lack of pictorial or archaeological evidence. I am certainly no expert in regional attributions, but I find the regions of Lanna and Lan Xang in general to be fascinating.