A European bladed dha

[Iain]

Originally Posted by Ian

Hi Iain,

I've been holding back in replying on this one until I could do some research to look for a similar example. Sadly, I have not found one.

This is a very unusual sword. The blade, as you noted, appears to be European in origin and is quite pitted from age and use. However, the hilt has me more intrigued. The grip tapers down approaching the pommel, and overall the central wooden section seems to have been turned on a lathe. The flanking ferrules appear to be silver, with some minimal twisted wire filigree ornamentation and a few engraved floral designs.

I have seen two similarly hilted swords, with grips that tapered like the subject of this post, but they had only a single (brass) ferrule adjacent to the blade. Those examples had straight blades with square tips. I have been unable to identify where they were from, but it has been suggested by others that they may be from the part of Yunnan adjacent to Jingpho (Kachin) areas in Burma. Another possibility may be NE India, including Assam.

While the subject of this thread has some similarities to mainland SE Asian dha, I don't think it is a dha as generally defined in those countries. Although the sword lacks a guard, the hilt and its decorations seem atypical for Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, etc.

Very interesting sword.

Hi Ian,

I thought you might find this one intriguing, I very much agree with your comments, it is both strangely a dha and at the same time quite atypical of any commonly seen dha types. The decorative elements remind me in some ways of work more typically seen on Tibetan items than anything common in Burma, while the tapering of the grip is usual unusual for Burma or Yunnan. The blade is rather thin at the spine compared to a standard dha (of course owing to its origin) but the entire sword is in fact quite a harmonious creation with a wonderfully light feel in the hand.

I would be curious to see the two examples you have mentioned, tapering handles are not unknown, but I cannot recall seeing an example with both a taper to the pommel and then the pommel swelling in this manner. The workmanship is quite good throughout. The blade is certainly no mystery and a readily identifiable pattern.

As with many of these swords it will likely prove quite difficult to pinpoint a geographical area precisely.