An odd dha with dried leaves on it

Ian · 6th April 2006, 03:28 AM

Hi Mark:

That looks like a very old blade, and the guard seems to be contemporary to the blade.

The style of hilt suggests Cambodian, although the disk guard is a little wider than usual.

The blade is not really a continuous curve. The last third is curved up but the rest of the blade is essentially straight. Don't think I've seen that before on a dha. And the blade is narrower than most dha. I have an old Cambodian dha that also has a vey narrow blade, so there may be some consonance with Mark's suggestion of a Cambodian origin. The vegetative decoration could reflect a ritual purpose.

I'm stumped in coming up with a precise attribution. Cambodian seems most likely, but Vietnamese or Lao are not out of the question. The single ferrule and wooden handle is also a feature of N. Thailand, but the wide disk guard puts me off a Thai origin.

Intriguing piece.

Ian.

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6th April 2006, 03:28 AM	#2
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,203	Hi Mark: That looks like a very old blade, and the guard seems to be contemporary to the blade. The style of hilt suggests Cambodian, although the disk guard is a little wider than usual. The blade is not really a continuous curve. The last third is curved up but the rest of the blade is essentially straight. Don't think I've seen that before on a dha. And the blade is narrower than most dha. I have an old Cambodian dha that also has a vey narrow blade, so there may be some consonance with Mark's suggestion of a Cambodian origin. The vegetative decoration could reflect a ritual purpose. I'm stumped in coming up with a precise attribution. Cambodian seems most likely, but Vietnamese or Lao are not out of the question. The single ferrule and wooden handle is also a feature of N. Thailand, but the wide disk guard puts me off a Thai origin. Intriguing piece. Ian.