Thai daab/katana fusion

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons

This is very attractive with pleasant repouse and chassing to the hilt, also a nice clean blade but what makes this piece 17th or 18th century? these items are not my main interest so it would be helpful if we could have some background information to oppinions made so far?

My admittedly only semi-educated guess is based in part on the time period when Japanese influence could have begun as an early limit (see previous posts), and that this is a fairly evolved form of the style, a true fusion rather than a remounted katana, which has a blade showing Chinese, rather than Japanese influence. One reference I have, Punjabhan, "Silverware in Thailand," has nice photos of several of these blades, all attributed to the Ayutthaya Period (1350-1767), giving 1767 as a late limit. The era of Japanese influence was in the last couple centuries of this period (call it 1600 onwards). Being conservative in dating swords, without more information about possible dating I'm saying its probably 18th C (i.e., 1700-ish to around 1767). It is of course possible that the style remained popular well into the Rattanakosin period, and in fact I have seen an example at the Smithsonian what is reliably dated to 1856 (a gift to President Pierce by King Mankut).