Unusual daab/darv (2)

[Iain]

A well placed question regarding the blade curvature. It is however a form I have encountered before. Both the attached pieces passed through my hands in the past and were clearly Vietnamese based on the construction, blade decoration and other elements.

Guom is a general term and there is quite some variety of types within the category.

Given the size of the piece at auction we could argue it is more of a truong dao, but regardless this blade curvature is not all that unusual.

The first image I am attaching is from a relatively short sabre I owned for a time with a pronounced 'hook' at the tip (photo is my own).

The second, a grouping of arms from the region, with the large truong dao in the middle showing a similar blade profile as the auction example (photo credit in this case goes to Mandarin Mansion although I did own this group prior).

Note the similarities in hilt components etc.