Dealer says it's Laotian

[wilked aka Khun Deng]

Picked up this little pig-sticker on my last trip to Bangkok. The dealer was insistant it was Laotian. Handle is 7" and the blade is 25 1/2" spine is 7/16" at the guard. Extremely solid. Small guard is partially open. Definately a different configuration than most dha and darb that I've seen. What do y'all think?










The blade shows some use as does the guard which has been cracked by what looks like a blow travelig down the blade.

[RhysMichael]

From the little I know I would not have guessed Laotian I would have said shan. A great find for sure as we see pictures of the ones with guards but do not see many folks actually aquire one. I will be interested in seeing what Ian thinks as he has some laotian dha

[Ian]

Dan:

Very interesting piece and in excellent shape not withstanding some of the scars from battle. A fine old warrior. The blade seems to have some significant age, and I believe it has an underlying pattern that might be revealed by polishing and etching.

I suspect the dealer's insistence on a Laotian origin arises from where he knows it came from most recently, but I doubt this is a common Lao pattern because it bears little resemblance to other Lao swords I have seen.

My first impression was an element of Chinese influence. The blade shape, with its curve upwards towards the tip, and the pierced guard are atypical for dha. The rather short hilt, which is a three-part construction found on many dha, is nevertheless unusual and I have not seen one quite like it on other dha. Again, I get more of a Chinese feel to the hilt. If someone had said this was from Vietnam (rather than Vientiane), I would not have been surprised!

Philip Tom or Scott R. could give you a better read as to whether this one has some Chinese influence.

Bottom line, this sword does not match any Lao sword that I have seen, so I suspect another cultural influence.

Ian.

[RhysMichael]

now that you have mentioned it Ian I do see a resemeblance in the cut out guard to the few Tonkin sabers I have seeen

[wilked aka Khun Deng]

Thanks Ian. I did not want to look stupid as I haven't dealt with many Lao dha. I had only seen a few Vietnamese swords on the web and that was my guess, but I had nothing to back it up. I had seen guards like this on old Khmer blades, but the blade profile and handle type didn't match and I've never seen that type of design work on the brass before so I wasn't gonna make a call. Interesting to see if anyone else chimes in.

[Mark]

All I can add is that parts of Laos have been dominated by Vietnam for centuries (and in fact have ethnically Viet majorities), so it is not so far-fetched that a Vietnamese influence is seen here, if not in fact a Vietnamese sword.

Nice piece.