Burmese Dha Sword with Silver kofgari

arsendaday · 13th November 2016, 04:43 AM

Here is an interesting example of what I found out to be a Burmese Dha Iwe (Story Sword). The wooden handle is missing some parts. IMHO the ray skin cover and the silver pommel!?!, while the tiny brass nails are still there, as well as a silver part on the lower part of the handle. The blade has most of it's silver koftgari intact, which is beautiful, done masterfully and is done inside the wide fuller. Part of the spine of the sword near the handle is also covered in koftgari.

Any more information on this Dha is much appreciated.

mariusgmioc · 13th November 2016, 08:29 AM

Nice blade, but I believe the hilt is a crude replacement.

While I am not at all knowledgeable on this subject, I think you may consider the possibility the blade is of Thai origin.

Regards,

Marius

Sajen · 13th November 2016, 11:36 AM

Now I know who bid me out by this one. It's a 19th century Burmese dha iwe but not a story sword (it's not a story told by the koftgari work). The hilt isn't a replacement IMVHO but like you said byself missing most parts, also by the present silver part is missing something. Nothing at this dha is Thai, sorry Marius. To restore the handle will be a challenge, good luck for this. I would start with the blade and polish the parts without koftgari. Your sword will has looked similar like this one: http://arscives.com/historysteel/images1/226-mib17.jpg
Here you can find also others in the same style: http://arscives.com/historysteel/con....swordlist.htm

Regards,
Detlef

Ian · 13th November 2016, 04:30 PM

Hello Arsendaday:

Detlef has correctly identified your Burmese dha as late 19th or early 20th C. The hilt is what remains of an original hilt of this period (although it is hard to say whether it is original to this sword--note the gap between the blade and the hilt that suggests the two have been separated at some time). This hilt would have been once covered with ray skin as indicated by the small silver pins on the grip area. The pommel seems to have been missing for some time, but the remnants of the silver ferrule are distinctly Burmese.

Marius has suggested a possible Thai origin, and I think he came to this from the shape of the blade. The somewhat waisted blade that narrows slightly from the hilt and then widens towards the tip is typical of Shan/Dai/Lao work seen in the region of the "Golden Triangle," particularly in the late 19th/early 20th C and persist today. The Shan are, of course, located mainly in Burma and Yunnan Province, China--they are a prominent minority population in Myanmar who have sought independence for many years.

I would call this a Shan style dha with Burmese decoration to the blade and hilt. Such swords were found widely in Burma and were commonly collected by Europeans.

Attached is a picture of a very similar dha iwe with a hilt as yours would have been (the scabbard is a recent replacement).

Ian.

mariusgmioc · 13th November 2016, 04:45 PM

Thank you Detlef and Ian for the info! Now I learned some interesting new things.

arsendaday · 13th November 2016, 08:05 PM

Thanks for your input guys. Detlef it's good to know that this sword is of interest to somebody else on this site. The quality and the beauty of the blade caught my eye and even though SE Asian weapons are not my main focus, I just couldn't but get it.
I think the handle and blade look so disconnected, because the handle is missing the lowermost silver part (the wider piece). Otherwise the handle is very solid, has no movement and the brass (silver?) nails have a pattern to them.
I am still contemplating about the restoration and the materials to use, but of course I will keep whatever parts are already present and try to get original parts, before trying to make new ones. If anybody has handle or scabbard parts for a sword like this, please let me know.

13th November 2016, 04:43 AM	#1
arsendaday Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 44	Burmese Dha Sword with Silver kofgari Here is an interesting example of what I found out to be a Burmese Dha Iwe (Story Sword). The wooden handle is missing some parts. IMHO the ray skin cover and the silver pommel!?!, while the tiny brass nails are still there, as well as a silver part on the lower part of the handle. The blade has most of it's silver koftgari intact, which is beautiful, done masterfully and is done inside the wide fuller. Part of the spine of the sword near the handle is also covered in koftgari. Any more information on this Dha is much appreciated. Attached Images

13th November 2016, 04:30 PM	#4
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,203	Hello Arsendaday: Detlef has correctly identified your Burmese dha as late 19th or early 20th C. The hilt is what remains of an original hilt of this period (although it is hard to say whether it is original to this sword--note the gap between the blade and the hilt that suggests the two have been separated at some time). This hilt would have been once covered with ray skin as indicated by the small silver pins on the grip area. The pommel seems to have been missing for some time, but the remnants of the silver ferrule are distinctly Burmese. Marius has suggested a possible Thai origin, and I think he came to this from the shape of the blade. The somewhat waisted blade that narrows slightly from the hilt and then widens towards the tip is typical of Shan/Dai/Lao work seen in the region of the "Golden Triangle," particularly in the late 19th/early 20th C and persist today. The Shan are, of course, located mainly in Burma and Yunnan Province, China--they are a prominent minority population in Myanmar who have sought independence for many years. I would call this a Shan style dha with Burmese decoration to the blade and hilt. Such swords were found widely in Burma and were commonly collected by Europeans. Attached is a picture of a very similar dha iwe with a hilt as yours would have been (the scabbard is a recent replacement). Ian. Attached Images

13th November 2016, 08:29 AM	#2
mariusgmioc Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Austria Posts: 1,903	Nice blade, but I believe the hilt is a crude replacement. While I am not at all knowledgeable on this subject, I think you may consider the possibility the blade is of Thai origin. Regards, Marius

13th November 2016, 11:36 AM	#3
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 8,786	Now I know who bid me out by this one. It's a 19th century Burmese dha iwe but not a story sword (it's not a story told by the koftgari work). The hilt isn't a replacement IMVHO but like you said byself missing most parts, also by the present silver part is missing something. Nothing at this dha is Thai, sorry Marius. To restore the handle will be a challenge, good luck for this. I would start with the blade and polish the parts without koftgari. Your sword will has looked similar like this one: http://arscives.com/historysteel/images1/226-mib17.jpg Here you can find also others in the same style: http://arscives.com/historysteel/con....swordlist.htm Regards, Detlef

13th November 2016, 04:45 PM	#5
mariusgmioc Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Austria Posts: 1,903	Thank you Detlef and Ian for the info! Now I learned some interesting new things.

13th November 2016, 08:05 PM	#6
arsendaday Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 44	Thanks for your input guys. Detlef it's good to know that this sword is of interest to somebody else on this site. The quality and the beauty of the blade caught my eye and even though SE Asian weapons are not my main focus, I just couldn't but get it. I think the handle and blade look so disconnected, because the handle is missing the lowermost silver part (the wider piece). Otherwise the handle is very solid, has no movement and the brass (silver?) nails have a pattern to them. I am still contemplating about the restoration and the materials to use, but of course I will keep whatever parts are already present and try to get original parts, before trying to make new ones. If anybody has handle or scabbard parts for a sword like this, please let me know.