Burmese story dha restored by Battara

zelbone · 14th June 2005, 03:54 AM

WOW!!! That is one BEAUTIFUL dha!

Andrew, congratulations on that dha and good call by having Battara do restoration work on it. Jose is truly an artisan in all respects.

Andrew · 14th June 2005, 04:23 AM

Thanks, Zel.

Antonio Cejunior · 14th June 2005, 06:27 AM

Beautiful blade and beautiful restoration work by José.

Congratulations Andrew

Antonio

RhysMichael · 14th June 2005, 03:06 PM

Wow that looks great Andrew. Now we need to find someone to translate the story. I have been told they are often Buddist parables

Andrew · 14th June 2005, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RhysMichael

Wow that looks great Andrew. Now we need to find someone to translate the story. I have been told they are often Buddist parables

I'm dying to have these swords translated! I have also read (can't recall where, specifically) that the "stories" are Buddhist. The panels at the forte may be much more interesting.

I'll post pix of the knife you sold me for comparison, as the story that appears there is different than any I've personally seen. It actually depicts a forge.

Ian · 14th June 2005, 11:52 PM

Excellent dha Andrew and, as usual, Battara has done a great job with the repairs/restoration work. I'll be interested to hear the translation of the "story."

The silver inlay work on the blade is very crisp on this example, a feature that I think is a guide to the level of skill of the silver smith and the overall quality of the sword.

Ian.

Battara · 15th June 2005, 06:48 PM

Thank you so much for your comments.

I'm so glad that Andrew is pleased with the results. When I got the piece, the very top was squashed and coming off, so I had to replace it with a dome shape I made and placed wire I twisted (like me

) around the bottom it, the same wire that I used to cover the base of the pommel which was a 1/4-1/2 inche of lead. The silver collars of the top and bottom of the ivory part were dented and I had to get these out as well. Speaking of the ivory part, this was covered with adhesive that was difficult to take off also.

Andrew asked me to darken the background of the blade to bring out the silver. I tried a blackening solution, but that worked for a while until it began to later rust out the background metal. So I turned to something completely different - permanent India ink. No rust there.

Ah the scabbard.......This was fun.......the bands were darkened brass and very rough on the surface. Interspaced between each band, as Andrew stated, were bands of brass wire held in place by pitch. I took all of that off and, per Andrew, replaced them with silver wire. I then reshaped the large brass bands, cleaned them and polished them (again per Andrew) and made a silver top and bottom chape. The original top chape had a tin flat plate that was uneven and warped. I just soft soldered a new silver plate to the top chape band (because I made it fit too well).

In the middle of all of this Andrew sent me a dha dagger that was the "little Bro" of the dha sword and I did the same type of stuff to it to match. I did, however, have to pull off the upside down ivory handle and reattach it.

All of this took a while and I was a little rushed because I wanted to get this all to Andrew for Timonium (and get some money to bring to the show

). But all in all, no one was destroyed in the making of this product.

Oh, BTW - I did try to get pictures in process, but my el cheapo camera did not take pictures worth printing.

Next on Santa's list: a digital camera and enter the 21st century.

Mark · 15th June 2005, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew

I'm dying to have these swords translated! I have also read (can't recall where, specifically) that the "stories" are Buddhist. The panels at the forte may be much more interesting.

I'll post pix of the knife you sold me for comparison, as the story that appears there is different than any I've personally seen. It actually depicts a forge.

A forge? I bet I know what that one is. Remember that monograph on the iron & steel industry in turn-of-the-century Burma that I sent you a while back? There is a story in there of the Burmese "father of smithing" (sort of a Vulcan-like figure -- the Roman god, not Spock!). He was big and strong and married a princess, but the king got jealous and had him killed. The author says that it is a common theme on story dha, but I have never seen one I was sure showed it. I will look up the specifics when I get home tonight.

The stories are scenes from Buddhist Jattaka (stories of the life of Gautama Buddha, and I think of his previous lives as well), as well as stories from Burmese folklore (like the swordsmith one). I am pursuing leads for translation in Burma. Slowly, unfortunately.

CharlesS · 16th June 2005, 12:59 AM

I remember seeing this in March. Gorgeous piece, and beautifully restored!!

Andrew · 14th June 2005, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Antonio Cejunior

Beautiful blade and beautiful restoration work by José.

Congratulations Andrew

Antonio

Many thanks, Antonio.

I hope when Jose has some time, he'll stop by this thread and provide some description of the process.

14th June 2005, 03:54 AM	#1
zelbone Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: VISAYAS and MINDANAO Posts: 169	WOW!!! That is one BEAUTIFUL dha! Andrew, congratulations on that dha and good call by having Battara do restoration work on it. Jose is truly an artisan in all respects.

14th June 2005, 04:23 AM	#2
Andrew Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,725	Thanks, Zel.

14th June 2005, 06:27 AM	#3
Antonio Cejunior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Macau Posts: 294	Beautiful blade and beautiful restoration work by José. Congratulations Andrew Antonio

14th June 2005, 03:06 PM	#4
RhysMichael Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Virginia Posts: 520	Wow that looks great Andrew. Now we need to find someone to translate the story. I have been told they are often Buddist parables

14th June 2005, 11:52 PM	#6
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,397	Excellent dha Andrew and, as usual, Battara has done a great job with the repairs/restoration work. I'll be interested to hear the translation of the "story." The silver inlay work on the blade is very crisp on this example, a feature that I think is a guide to the level of skill of the silver smith and the overall quality of the sword. Ian.

15th June 2005, 06:48 PM	#7
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,280	Thank you so much for your comments. I'm so glad that Andrew is pleased with the results. When I got the piece, the very top was squashed and coming off, so I had to replace it with a dome shape I made and placed wire I twisted (like me ) around the bottom it, the same wire that I used to cover the base of the pommel which was a 1/4-1/2 inche of lead. The silver collars of the top and bottom of the ivory part were dented and I had to get these out as well. Speaking of the ivory part, this was covered with adhesive that was difficult to take off also. Andrew asked me to darken the background of the blade to bring out the silver. I tried a blackening solution, but that worked for a while until it began to later rust out the background metal. So I turned to something completely different - permanent India ink. No rust there. Ah the scabbard.......This was fun.......the bands were darkened brass and very rough on the surface. Interspaced between each band, as Andrew stated, were bands of brass wire held in place by pitch. I took all of that off and, per Andrew, replaced them with silver wire. I then reshaped the large brass bands, cleaned them and polished them (again per Andrew) and made a silver top and bottom chape. The original top chape had a tin flat plate that was uneven and warped. I just soft soldered a new silver plate to the top chape band (because I made it fit too well). In the middle of all of this Andrew sent me a dha dagger that was the "little Bro" of the dha sword and I did the same type of stuff to it to match. I did, however, have to pull off the upside down ivory handle and reattach it. All of this took a while and I was a little rushed because I wanted to get this all to Andrew for Timonium (and get some money to bring to the show ). But all in all, no one was destroyed in the making of this product. Oh, BTW - I did try to get pictures in process, but my el cheapo camera did not take pictures worth printing. Next on Santa's list: a digital camera and enter the 21st century.

16th June 2005, 12:59 AM	#9
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,854	I remember seeing this in March. Gorgeous piece, and beautifully restored!!