A Northern Thai daab with silver and ivory

[JeffS]

You also see that round mark on more recent Thai dha. Is the significance of this mark understood?

[Ian]

Originally Posted by JeffS

You also see that round mark on more recent Thai dha. Is the significance of this mark understood?

I agree Jeff. A similar mark does appear on contemporary Thai daab, since at least the 1950s and probably earlier. Mark Bowditch had some information he shared on the now defunct UBB part of this forum. I think he called the more recent examples a "bitter melon seed." This mark and several others I usually associate with HuSa daos, the blades of which are sometimes traded into northern Thailand.

What is unusual about this mark on Iain's daab is the age of the sword. I would say Iain's sword is the oldest example of such a mark that I have seen. This sword seems to be of 19th C manufacture, or perhaps very early 20th C. The similarly marked HuSa blades that I have handled all appeared to be WWII era or later.

As to the significance of these marks, we do not have authoritative information. It is presumed that they are maker's marks but there is no clear evidence that is the case.