Korean or Khmer sword.

Ren Ren · 1st February 2019, 08:32 PM

This is definitely not Korea. The island part of Southeast Asia can also be excluded.
You are right about the old blade. In Indochina, this archaic form is sometimes found in Thailand. But the metal parts of the hilt are not typical for Thai masters. In my opinion, the high-quality work on silver and the complex composition of the plot point to the works of Vietnamese masters from Hue or Hanoi. Perhaps these silver pieces used to be part of another object, and later became parts of a sword hilt.

ariel · 1st February 2019, 10:48 PM

Agree with both of you: SE Asia, and that was exactly what I said. So all three of us are on the same page. The “islands” were mentioned simply due to the use of rattan, but obviously they are out of the equation.

Regretfully, so is Korea: those are rarer than hens teeth.

mariusgmioc · 2nd February 2019, 01:42 PM

After spending about one year in Korea and visiting most of their museums, I can say with a sufficient level of certainty this is NOT a Korean sword, but a SE Asian Dha. Where exactly is it from, I don't know.

1st February 2019, 08:32 PM	#1
Ren Ren Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Russia, Moscow Posts: 379	This is definitely not Korea. The island part of Southeast Asia can also be excluded. You are right about the old blade. In Indochina, this archaic form is sometimes found in Thailand. But the metal parts of the hilt are not typical for Thai masters. In my opinion, the high-quality work on silver and the complex composition of the plot point to the works of Vietnamese masters from Hue or Hanoi. Perhaps these silver pieces used to be part of another object, and later became parts of a sword hilt.

1st February 2019, 10:48 PM	#2
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Agree with both of you: SE Asia, and that was exactly what I said. So all three of us are on the same page. The “islands” were mentioned simply due to the use of rattan, but obviously they are out of the equation. Regretfully, so is Korea: those are rarer than hens teeth.

2nd February 2019, 01:42 PM	#3
mariusgmioc Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Austria Posts: 1,906	After spending about one year in Korea and visiting most of their museums, I can say with a sufficient level of certainty this is NOT a Korean sword, but a SE Asian Dha. Where exactly is it from, I don't know.