A Huge Burmese Lance

CharlesS · 24th November 2015, 05:53 PM

This Burmese lance is of a most beautiful and elegant form, not to mention unique. The lance is 103in., so quite long, with a spearhead of 15in. and an actual diamond sectioned blade of 11in. The haft is covered over most of the wood with segmented silver sleeves. At the bottom is a curious aluminum(replacement?) sleeve and iron toe.

The head, to my eye, reminds me of some Chinese and Vietnamese styles. Note how well forged and polished(and now cleaned) the actual blade is vs. the socket that is quite rough. The screw in the socket may not be original to the blade, but has certainly been there for a very long time as its patina matches the patina of the socket.

The silver bulbous ornaments are quite curious, but a very similar example of this type of lance can be found in Ian Heath's book Armies of the 19th Century: ASIA: Burma and Indo-China in a drawing on page 99, Figure 57. In this case he attributes it to the Northern Shan. Though this is obviously just a drawing it is based on historical accounts and eye witnesses.

The last photo here shows the lance with two other Burmese lances/spears with different spearheads, but of similar length and decoration.

24th November 2015, 05:53 PM	#1
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,855	A Huge Burmese Lance This Burmese lance is of a most beautiful and elegant form, not to mention unique. The lance is 103in., so quite long, with a spearhead of 15in. and an actual diamond sectioned blade of 11in. The haft is covered over most of the wood with segmented silver sleeves. At the bottom is a curious aluminum(replacement?) sleeve and iron toe. The head, to my eye, reminds me of some Chinese and Vietnamese styles. Note how well forged and polished(and now cleaned) the actual blade is vs. the socket that is quite rough. The screw in the socket may not be original to the blade, but has certainly been there for a very long time as its patina matches the patina of the socket. The silver bulbous ornaments are quite curious, but a very similar example of this type of lance can be found in Ian Heath's book Armies of the 19th Century: ASIA: Burma and Indo-China in a drawing on page 99, Figure 57. In this case he attributes it to the Northern Shan. Though this is obviously just a drawing it is based on historical accounts and eye witnesses. The last photo here shows the lance with two other Burmese lances/spears with different spearheads, but of similar length and decoration. Attached Images