Dao i just purchased with no idea on what it is, information please

[Kmaddock]

Hi
I Got 2 Kora's yesterday in an auction (been looking for 1 for a while and now have ended up with 2) and this sword was in the same auction.
This sword was unsold in auction so when arranging shipping I put in a cheap (I think) bid and the auctioneer accepted.
I have no real clue on what it is but would appreciate comments and opinion on my new addition, courier will take a week or so but in the interim I would welcome opinions so i can get a bit of knowledge.

The auction was of a stately house in Ireland and going on the medals for sale, the house has strong association with India during the mutiny period 1850's or so.

Might this sword be from this period, it looks to be well made and of good quality and but as I said not my area of interest, going on pictures it looks as if It has gone on the collectors market just in time with just surface rust
just starting to appear,


only information from auctioneer is 70 cm long
Regards to all ,

Ken

[Ian]

Hi Ken,

This is a Naga dao from Nagaland, bordering on Burma and part of the NE Territories of India that were loosely governed by the British Raj. There are other examples to be found on the forum if you use the search function. It is a very nice example, and if the ferrule is silver (more likely brass but hard to tell from the pictures) then it was owned by someone of importance as silver is rare on Naga weapons. A good clean may show a laminated pattern or even perhaps a hairpin pattern similar to Tibetan swords. You got lucky on this one!

Ian

[Sajen]

Sorry Ian, I disagree a little bit with you, I would say that it is Jingpo dao (Kachin), from time to time used by different Naga people but it's a pure Jingpo sword. See also here: https://www.mandarinmansion.com/glossary/lin-gin and here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=kachin, also here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=kachin and in this thread by #4 you stated it yourself: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=kachin

Regards,
Detlef

[Sajen]

Hello Ken, a very nice so-called Kachin dao. When you have received it you should clean the blade, it will show a nice lamination! Sadly the scabbard is missing. When my time allows it I will show my both examples.

Regards,
Detlef

[RobT]

Hi All,

In plate 37 of his book The Indian Sword, P. S. Rawson lists this type of dao as Kachin from the Assam and shows it with the characteristic open sheath. The example in this thread is very nice indeed.

Sincerely,
RobT

[Kmaddock]

Thanks all for the great information,

Not something that has been on my list but as I am paying courier for these 2 kora's I decided to add the dao into the mix.

Any idea on the approx. age of the Dao?

I will put pictures up after i clean the new additions over the Christmas break

Regards,

Ken

[RAMBA]

Both should clean up well. I left a bid but some way behind the final. I think you got a good pair of kora there. Look to have nice spine decoration.

There was a pair of indian swords of rare form, one a basket type hilt and the other zulfiqar type, in the auction but the condition was poor. Heavy rust in parts with some that had gone deep. They hammered for 4700.00 Euro which had me scratching my head.

There was a lot of relic items with a single kukri of rare form - hanshee type. I was the underbidder. I had to leave a bid and go to bed.

I think these weapons must have been stored in a shed or attic. The house was close to the sea.

[Kmaddock]

Hi Ramba,

I was bidding on the Indian pair that went for 4,700 I pulled out a lot earlier, there was writing on the zulfiqar which might have been interesting and the basket hilt was unusual but 4700 plus fees was out of my league.

I was looking at the curvey bladed knife in the kukuri lot but again it went too high for me but interesting set of weapons.

I have only once seen a kora for sale in Ireland so I had to go on this pair as they do not come up often here, I hope they are on the right side of oxidation, but we will see.

I hope this is OK to discuss as I am not discussing price I paid, but if this post should be deleted apologies.

Regards,

Ken

[RAMBA]

I could not get that wavy dagger to me through customs. I had asked the auction house to split the kukri from the rest and I would have just taken the kukri. My thing and those type of kukri are rare and old. The price as a collector of kukri was fair for it. Again I had to leave a bid.

Part of the hilt guard on one was almost rusted through. I'm not sure the inlay on that blade would be all recoverable but I'm only going off image. Maybe an experienced restorer could bring them back.

Kora seem to be seen less and less seen - good to get 2!

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Kmaddock

Any idea on the approx. age of the Dao?

Mid to end of the 19th century would be my guess.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Sorry Ian, I disagree a little bit with you, I would say that it is Jingpo dao (Kachin), from time to time used by different Naga people but it's a pure Jingpo sword. See also here: https://www.mandarinmansion.com/glossary/lin-gin and here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=kachin, also here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=kachin and in this thread by #4 you stated it yourself: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=kachin

Regards,
Detlef

Hi Sajen,

Yes, the link between the old traditional Kachin (Jingpo) dao and the Naga dao is very strong. The Naga are described by Rawson as an "iron poor" ethnic group. He cites this as a reason for them stealing British made hoes from plantations to make their traditional long handled dao (not the sword dao of this discussion). In fact, the Naga were not very good at making conventional knives and swords. They probably never made the sword dao (shown here) and obtained this type of sword from the Kachin/Jingpo.

The Kachin almost totally ceased making this type of dao in the 1870s (according to Hanson) and switched to a slimmer Shan dha with a squared end because it was cheaper and more readily available. The change over was virtually complete by 1880-1890 (again, according to Hanson*) with some of the older style still in use, especially in more remote areas, even into the mid-20th C.

So, it's a question of attribution—whether you assign this sword to the maker or the likely user. I agree with your dating and likely Kachin/Jingpo manufacture, but I think it was most likely used by a Naga for reasons already noted.

Also, this sword came from an Indian collection, and I think the original collector would be more likely to have acquired it in India if it came from the Indian NE Frontier rather than the highlands of Burma/China. But that's just speculation.


* "The true Kachin sword is now rarely seen south of Myitkyina and Mogaung. The Shan article is in common use." O. Hanson. The Kachin: their customs and traditions. 1913, p. 47.

[RobT]

Hi All,

I believe that the Kachin are also in the Assam region of India. Is it unreasonable to assume that this population may have retained the older form of sword longer than those groups in South East Asia and China?

Sincerely,
RobT

[Ian]

Rob,

I believe that the Naga retained use of this sword up until the WWII era.

[Kmaddock]

Thanks All,

I have learned a lot form your very informed threads.
Courier confirmed they have the 3 swords so I will have in a few days,

I wont start to clean up for a while though as I have a lovely Irish flintlock pistol on the bench for repair and I don't want to get distracted with the swords.

Regards to all

Ken

[Athanase]

Very nice Kachin Dao, is not my area of collect but I love it !

[SidJ]

A very nice Kachin dao. I put a written offer for it immediately post sale but they did not read it. A gentle de.rusting will help.

[Kmaddock]

Well Sid, I glad they did not read the e-mail you sent,

I said to auctioneer well if i don't buy it it will go back to vendor and you make nothing so he took a cheeky bid

So 3 formites were watching the auction I wonder who purchased the other lots? another fomite i hope so we can discover what was on the blade of the zulfiqar.

Regards,

Ken

[SidJ]

Originally Posted by Kmaddock

Well Sid, I glad they did not read the e-mail you sent,

I said to auctioneer well if i don't buy it it will go back to vendor and you make nothing so he took a cheeky bid

So 3 formites were watching the auction I wonder who purchased the other lots? another fomite i hope so we can discover what was on the blade of the zulfiqar.

Regards,

Ken

The Sword Gods were with you this time Ken. Congrats! I was bidding on the koras too and was the underbidder on those. Enjoy them. Fine things.