Thread: Thai Kastane
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Old 24th May 2005, 05:44 PM   #9
Mark
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As far as the detail of the decoration, I do not recognize any Thai motifs, which tend to be a little more "flamey" or spikey. Nor have I read or see a kastane provinenced from Thailand. There were certainly contacts with Sri Lanka, perhaps more with Burma than Thailand. One other point to ponder is a royal edict issued in Siam at a time when Japanese blades were becoming common and popular, requiring that the use of such blades would be acceptable only so long as the fittings were Thai. So you see a fair number of katana blades fitted with handles having a round cross-section and a pommel. Based on that I would have expected a more Thai-styled handle on the blade, though in more recent times the knuckle-bow saber handle is common.

Coincedentally, here is a sword which was recently sold by Hermann-Historica, attributed to "Borneo/Brunei," but the handle of which to me strongly resembles that of a Burmese dha. Note the blade ...
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