Northern Thai or Laotian daab

[Ian]

Iain and DhaDha,

Thank you for sharing pictures of your beautiful daab. Both excellent swords. Iain has mentioned the Lanna and Lan Xang periods in northern Thai and Lao history. Attached is a map showing the two kingdoms in the late 17th C.

The Lan Na kingdom existed from the 13th C into the 18th C and its borders ebbed and flowed in northern Thailand and into neighboring areas of Burma and Laos. Its principal city was Chiang Mai.

Lan Xang Hom Kao (Million Elephants and White Parasols) was a unified kingdom from the mid-13th C until the beginning of the 18th C. Its capital was initially Luang Praban and later Vientiane. In 1707 the kingdom was partitioned into several principalities.

Both kingdoms were strong during approximately the same time frame.

I think Iain's sword has features more in keeping with the heavily sinocized kingdom of Lan Na, most notably the lobulated disc guard, while the guard and hilt treatment of DhaDha's sword looks more typically Lao and from the late Lan Xang period. Both swords likely come from the late 17th or early 18th C. These are rare finds and congratulations to both of you!

I have a couple of similar swords that were posted on this site previously that resemble certain elements on these two fine examples. One is a very large Thai sword with a large brass disc guard (as seen on Iain's daab), and the other is a samrit-hilted daab from Lan Xang.

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