Some dha/daab For Sale

[Mark]

I am selling these items:

1) Daab, Shan States (Myanmar/Burma) or No. Thailand (I am leaning toward Chiang Mai, No. Thailand), mid 20th cen. All silver sheathing on scabbard and grip. More photos and details here. $ 650

2) Thai daab, 20th C (my guess is post WWII, but no later than the '70s). Ivory handle, "turtle" or "melon seed" maker's mark, copper inserts on spine. Scabbard & cloth baldric original. Blade and scabbard in excellent condition (aside from the age patina). $ 250 (shipment within US only, due to ivory)

3) Laotian dha, early 20th C. Collected in Laos in 1928 by a Col. Lewis of Pennsylvania. See details here. Not in top shape, but a good example of a working dha. The tang is unusual in that it has rounded transitions between the tang and the "shoulders" of the blade - usually these are squared. $ 120

4) Burmese dha, 20th C. Brass sheathing on handle and scabbard (once had very thin silver-colored, perhaps actually silver, plating which has since worn off). See details and more photoshere (ignore Kachin attribution). These are used in rituals related to Nat (spirit) worship in Burma, and are sometimes called "Temple" swords, and is a better-quality example of the type than is often seen (note the finer and more elaborate koftgari on the blade). $250

5) Shan dha (Shan States, Burma, most likely). $750
I had this one on e-bay recently, with the following description:

Burmese dha in a Shan style; Shan States (Burma) or Northern Thailand. Wooden scabbard and wooden handle completely covered in thin silver sheet, with silver wire-and-pearl filigree decoration. The grip is made with a combination of woven silver wire mesh and bands of twisted silver wire, hammered flat. The large lotus pommel (silver sheet over resin & wood core) carries a delicate impressed vegetal design, and is virtually free of the heavy dents and damage typically seen in this type of dha. There are small areas of damage to the silver on the scabbard, and the tip is a little bent on one corner (see photos). The blade is heavy, with hardened edge, though I can’t tell if it is differentially tempered, or inserted edge/sandwich construction. The blade shows the file marks that are typical for most Shan dha (a high polish is not traditional for these blades).

Blade length: 22.5 inches; Handle length: 12.5 inches; In scabbard: 35 inches (measured in a straight line, not along the curve).

Full-sized photos are here: http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/dha3/

This dha also is featured on my web site, “The Dha Research Index,” here http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/0070.htm, where a little more information on it can be found (obviously I have polished it since the web page photos were taken).