Typical Lao silverwork on a daab

Ian · 21st February 2017, 10:49 PM

It has taken me a while to get to this sword and clean it up. For those who thought this was a 20th C. piece, I can certainly agree that the blade is probably late 20th C. and from northern Thailand. It is an inferior piece of monosteel that is not worth considering further.

However, what interested me when I first saw this piece was the hilt and scabbard, both of which are divided into "cells" or segments, with repoussed elements that alternate between plants and animals (a squirrel and fish). This is all done in silver that was heavily oxidized when I got the sword, and took some time to polish. I feel confident that the silver work is 19th C. and the repousse work is reasonably good. There are areas of damage, consistent with age, and the oxidation was well established in the areas of damage suggesting that it occurred some time ago.

The sword was obviously dressed up with a new blade to sell it. The hilt had been attached with a few drops of glue and readily came apart from the handle. These is some residual old resin in the hilt, and the wood cores of the hilt and the scabbard show some age. In looking at the scabbard in particular, it is obvious that it has been together for a long time.

One interesting point on the scabbard is the area where a rope baldric would have been wound around the scabbard throat--this is a plain sheet of unadorned silver and there are faint impressions remaining of where the rope had been wrapped around it.

Hilt = 11 inches
Scabbard = 19.5 inches

Ian.

---------------------Attachments---------------------

Lao daab with silver fittings

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Gavin Nugent · 22nd February 2017, 06:37 AM

Hi Ian,

I see this sword had been posted in the Burma story Dah thread with another. I've put forth further thoughts there;

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=69

Gavin

21st February 2017, 10:49 PM	#1
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,453	Cleaned up a bit It has taken me a while to get to this sword and clean it up. For those who thought this was a 20th C. piece, I can certainly agree that the blade is probably late 20th C. and from northern Thailand. It is an inferior piece of monosteel that is not worth considering further. However, what interested me when I first saw this piece was the hilt and scabbard, both of which are divided into "cells" or segments, with repoussed elements that alternate between plants and animals (a squirrel and fish). This is all done in silver that was heavily oxidized when I got the sword, and took some time to polish. I feel confident that the silver work is 19th C. and the repousse work is reasonably good. There are areas of damage, consistent with age, and the oxidation was well established in the areas of damage suggesting that it occurred some time ago. The sword was obviously dressed up with a new blade to sell it. The hilt had been attached with a few drops of glue and readily came apart from the handle. These is some residual old resin in the hilt, and the wood cores of the hilt and the scabbard show some age. In looking at the scabbard in particular, it is obvious that it has been together for a long time. One interesting point on the scabbard is the area where a rope baldric would have been wound around the scabbard throat--this is a plain sheet of unadorned silver and there are faint impressions remaining of where the rope had been wrapped around it. Hilt = 11 inches Scabbard = 19.5 inches Ian. ---------------------Attachments--------------------- Lao daab with silver fittings . Attached Images

22nd February 2017, 06:37 AM	#2
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	Hi Ian, I see this sword had been posted in the Burma story Dah thread with another. I've put forth further thoughts there; http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=69 Gavin