Nobility Dha with Questions

[Battara]

Greetings folks,

Here is a dha I got from a friend. The hilt is carved ivory with a silver onion pommel and ferrule.

The blade appears to have some differential heat treatment.

Regarding the scabbard, it is wood covered with very thin silver with silver filigree.

I am thinking this is Burmese, but not sure if it is Shan or not.

Also, the carved figures on the ivory hilt - are they demons? What are they? (see last picture).

Finally, I am thinking this is late 19th century - what are your thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[kai]

Hello Jose,

Thanks for showing!

These kinda veiled faces are certainly stunning - reminds a bit of the man-in-green motif...

Regards,
Kai

[mariusgmioc]

Can't help you with any answers, but I certainly love this Dha! It seems you got some really nice aquisitions lately. And yes, more envy.

Thank you for sharing!

[Ian]

Hi Jose.

A very nice Shan dha made in the Burmese style with an intricately carved ivory hilt.

The carved ivory hilt says Burmese. The v-ground blade (no deep fullers), the large lotus bud pommel, and the silver covered scabbard with flared, blunt toe all say Shan. The Shan made high quality blades with hardened edges, so that is consistent too.

This is a prestige piece made more for show than use, so it is surprising to find a hardened edge to the blade. Perhaps an important blade reworked with high quality fittings.

The carved figures on the hilt are most likely "nats"--various Burmese (Bama) spirits that can be helpful, mischievous, or downright nasty. These nats need to be appeased with offerings, etc. or they can do you all sorts of wrongs.

Would you mind showing more detailed pics of the blade, its edge and the tip?

Late 19th C sounds right for this one.

Congrats on finding a very nice dha.

Ian

[Battara]

Here are some blade pictures that I did not alter except to resize for posting.

Some of the notches on the blade edge are "V" shaped, indicating edge blade to edge blade contact, even though this is a ceremonial weapon.

Note: I did not etch the blade at all.

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by Battara

Here are some blade pictures that I did not alter except to resize for posting.

Some of the notches on the blade edge are "V" shaped, indicating edge blade to edge blade contact, even though this is a ceremonial weapon.

Note: I did not etch the blade at all.

I remember few years ago to have seen children playing with antique swords of their father and hitting some stones "just for fun"...
It's not the first time that i saw comments about blade / sword use and really you are very strong if you can tell how the damages have been done!

[Ian]

Hi Jose,

That's a good quality blade which is probably about the same age as the fittings. Your sword was likely intended for a sawbwa (local leader) originally. As I noted above, this is a prestigious sword for show and not for use. The delicate ivory hilt would likely split from the percussive forces when being used as a weapon.

It's a pity about the edge damage. As Kubar notes, it is hard to know exactly how it occurred. Many of these high quality swords were taken back to England by wealthy travelers, British officials and plantation owners, etc. during the colonial period of Burmese history. Many of the Burmese dha that come on the market are from the estates of these folks and their descendants. Such swords were, indeed, subject to damage from kids getting hold of them and trying to cut all sorts of things. Some nice kukhris and Indian swords suffered a similar fate. English dealers refer to such damaged items as having been "kidded." We may never know if your sword suffered this form of abuse, but it's possible.

I like your dha a lot. Its silver work is very good and typical of Shan work.

Ian.

[Nathaniel]

Originally Posted by Battara

Here are some blade pictures that I did not alter except to resize for posting.

Some of the notches on the blade edge are "V" shaped, indicating edge blade to edge blade contact, even though this is a ceremonial weapon.

Note: I did not etch the blade at all.

Nice daab Battara. That is interesting to see the nicks in the blade. Some of the nicks are more "V" like and others more broad "U" shape...I wonder if that says something about the hardness of type of material it came into contact with or angle of percussion. One time I remember a weapons restorator commenting on a piece of mine that had several "V" nicks in it that this most likely meant the heat treatment was not good and that a properly tempered blade should have more "U" shaped nicks. Yours you can see the temper line...but looking at how the spine is finished towards the tip it makes me think this is a later 19th century made.

The carved motif I've seen before several time..it's like a Monkey tower :P I don't know if I think of them as Nats, as those are usually human spirits? But the monkey army from the Indian epic, Ramayama which spread in popularity through SEA, Buddhist and Hindu regions of present day Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Burma, including former Hindu regions like Indonesia and Malaysia. It's a symbol of strength and protection. The most well known monkey from the epic people maybe familiar with is Hanuman.

[Battara]

Here are pictures of a Shan dha I bought from Mark Bowditch years ago. Notice the Hanuman monkey figures all over the hilt (except the dragon on top):