Yet another Dha

[Ian]

Nice dha indeed, but the price is over the top by any standards.

The style of silver work is in the Lao tradition, with the segmented panels on the scabbard being characteristic of that style. It is still seen today on occasional high end contemporary Lao dha -- I have an example from the 1970s that is similar in style.

The presence of English and Burmese inscriptions on the scabbard indicates a Burmese provenance during the period of the British colonial administration which was from the early 1880s to Burmese independence just after WWII. These "distinguished presentation swords" are not very common, are often dated and usually have an inscription about the valor and virtue of the recipient, although this one does not seem to have a date or inscription. The three previous examples I have seen were dated from about 1900 to 1930.

Ian.