A European bladed dha

Jim McDougall · 20th May 2021, 04:03 PM

This is a completely fascinating example!!!! and while the British hanger blade is sort of right in areas I have been researching some time, the analysis of these mounts is deeply intriguing. While I know little of these SE Asian dha's, I have always been interested in the key nuances used to identify them.

The British were of course strongly present throughout India, and it does seem they had presence in some of the SE Asian countries, but there I cannot speak further.

The mark on the blade is as Iain notes, what is known as the 'bushy tail fox', which has been attributed to Samuel Harvey of Birmingham, who worked c. 1750s. These 'foxes' have been the subject of considerable debate and investigation as to their relationship to the 'running wolf' of Passau and the Shotley Bridge sword firm.

The blade was most probably from an infantry hanger of British forces in the 18th century, these blades so marked were present in British swords up to the 1770s-80s. What is surprising is that they are hardly ever seen in the mounts of ethnographic weapons.

On the other hand, the hanger blades of the VOC, Dutch East India Co. seem to be profoundly present on many varied forms, most prevalent the Ceylonese kastane.

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20th May 2021, 04:03 PM	#8
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,281	This is a completely fascinating example!!!! and while the British hanger blade is sort of right in areas I have been researching some time, the analysis of these mounts is deeply intriguing. While I know little of these SE Asian dha's, I have always been interested in the key nuances used to identify them. The British were of course strongly present throughout India, and it does seem they had presence in some of the SE Asian countries, but there I cannot speak further. The mark on the blade is as Iain notes, what is known as the 'bushy tail fox', which has been attributed to Samuel Harvey of Birmingham, who worked c. 1750s. These 'foxes' have been the subject of considerable debate and investigation as to their relationship to the 'running wolf' of Passau and the Shotley Bridge sword firm. The blade was most probably from an infantry hanger of British forces in the 18th century, these blades so marked were present in British swords up to the 1770s-80s. What is surprising is that they are hardly ever seen in the mounts of ethnographic weapons. On the other hand, the hanger blades of the VOC, Dutch East India Co. seem to be profoundly present on many varied forms, most prevalent the Ceylonese kastane.