On the "lighter side."

[Sajen]

Hi Drac2k,
Your swords are not dha's they are Lao daab with samrit alloy hilts and are from Lan chang - lan xang the Laos kingdom dated 18th through to 19thc, they are not made for film props or for temple use/dancing, they are real weapons of the old Kingdom of Lan Chang likely used by the royal elephant troupe. Polished the fittings would appear to be very gold like to go with the uniforms of red and golden yellow, the blades are set with white cement into tubular samrit alloy hilts that are made from flat sheet metal and joined, you often see a seam on them on the underside and the tangs of these blades are long, around 8 inches.
These may well have been elephant foot guards swords for the soldiers of the elephant troupe, they used them in pairs that were large compared to other smaller swords, the hilts often being curved and all having lotus bud pommels, there were 2 or as many as 4 guards who protected the elephants legs and feet and it would have been a great honor and a sign of a very skilled swordsman to be in that place of war elephants foot guard in Laos and Siam.

Regards,
Detlef