Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Mark · 21st June 2007, 12:33 AM

I’m not sure what you mean by “problem,” Lew. If you mean that the sword does not seem genuine, the only answer I can give is to state again that the provenance is unquestioned. I completely agree that the fittings are surprisingly poor, especially for a presidential gift, but given the clear provenance, we just have to accept that oddity.

As I noted before, the blade does appear to have been made using the Malaysian/Indonesian smithing traditions normally used for keris. I am not by any means an expert in the art of keris bladesmithing, but examining the blade in detail showed it to be very well-made from the point of view of geometry (even taper, crisp lines, even surfaces, etc.). I did not see any forging flaws, cracks, or other irregularities (other than the patterns in the steel itself).

Why would a Siamese blade be made to look like a katana, but done using layered & etched pamor? I have explained the reason for the katana shape - Japanese swords were very much in vogue in Siam, and Siamese smiths often imitated them in basic form. I did not mean to imply that the Siamese copied (or tried to copy) Japanese swords in an exact way, but rather that Japanese swords served as a stylistic inspiration for Thai interpretations of the style. There are many examples of katana, or katana-like, blades mounted in a uniquely Thai style. Some examples are in this thread (photos from Punjabhan, "Silverware in Thailand," Rengrom Publishing, Bangkok (1991) ISBN 9748869563); the one in the fifth photo appears to be etched, but it is hard to be sure from the small photos. Other examples are seen in Michael Nguyen's photos of the National Museum in Bangkok.

I have to speculate as to why the blade was done in pamor, but there are several facts which, I think, makes speculation possible. First, the use of pamor would have been well-known in Siam just by virtue of the proximity to Malaysia & cultural and trade contacts with Islandic Southeast Asia (and remember that southern Thailand comprises a part of the Malay Peninsula even today, as it did in the past). Second, keris in fact were common as a part of Siamese court attire, and given by the King as a sign of his favor (see de la Laubere, "A New Historical Relation of the Kingdom of Siam" (1693), pages 100 & 168), making it reasonable to conclude that the esthetics of pamor where appreciated in Thailand. Third, other edged weapons in the Malaysian tradition were also known and used, for example the badik (see, for example, Dan Wilke's photos from the Grand Palace in Bangkok. From these it is not very unreasonable to think that a Thai bladesmith would have combined the popular katana blade form with the beauty of pamor, and come up with a sword such as this one. Etching the blade would not be at all unusual in this circumstance. The Thai, like the rest of the dha-using people of SEA, were (and still are) endlessly creative in making and decorating their swords, and there is a bewildering variety of forms and styles (including katana-like swords made according to Thai bladesmithing traditions, and dha/daab clearly made using Japanese swordmaking traditions such as folded steel and the use of refractory clay to selectively harden the edge – see this one, for example). This appears to be just one more.

21st June 2007, 12:33 AM	#11
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	I’m not sure what you mean by “problem,” Lew. If you mean that the sword does not seem genuine, the only answer I can give is to state again that the provenance is unquestioned. I completely agree that the fittings are surprisingly poor, especially for a presidential gift, but given the clear provenance, we just have to accept that oddity. As I noted before, the blade does appear to have been made using the Malaysian/Indonesian smithing traditions normally used for keris. I am not by any means an expert in the art of keris bladesmithing, but examining the blade in detail showed it to be very well-made from the point of view of geometry (even taper, crisp lines, even surfaces, etc.). I did not see any forging flaws, cracks, or other irregularities (other than the patterns in the steel itself). Why would a Siamese blade be made to look like a katana, but done using layered & etched pamor? I have explained the reason for the katana shape - Japanese swords were very much in vogue in Siam, and Siamese smiths often imitated them in basic form. I did not mean to imply that the Siamese copied (or tried to copy) Japanese swords in an exact way, but rather that Japanese swords served as a stylistic inspiration for Thai interpretations of the style. There are many examples of katana, or katana-like, blades mounted in a uniquely Thai style. Some examples are in this thread (photos from Punjabhan, "Silverware in Thailand," Rengrom Publishing, Bangkok (1991) ISBN 9748869563); the one in the fifth photo appears to be etched, but it is hard to be sure from the small photos. Other examples are seen in Michael Nguyen's photos of the National Museum in Bangkok. I have to speculate as to why the blade was done in pamor, but there are several facts which, I think, makes speculation possible. First, the use of pamor would have been well-known in Siam just by virtue of the proximity to Malaysia & cultural and trade contacts with Islandic Southeast Asia (and remember that southern Thailand comprises a part of the Malay Peninsula even today, as it did in the past). Second, keris in fact were common as a part of Siamese court attire, and given by the King as a sign of his favor (see de la Laubere, "A New Historical Relation of the Kingdom of Siam" (1693), pages 100 & 168), making it reasonable to conclude that the esthetics of pamor where appreciated in Thailand. Third, other edged weapons in the Malaysian tradition were also known and used, for example the badik (see, for example, Dan Wilke's photos from the Grand Palace in Bangkok. From these it is not very unreasonable to think that a Thai bladesmith would have combined the popular katana blade form with the beauty of pamor, and come up with a sword such as this one. Etching the blade would not be at all unusual in this circumstance. The Thai, like the rest of the dha-using people of SEA, were (and still are) endlessly creative in making and decorating their swords, and there is a bewildering variety of forms and styles (including katana-like swords made according to Thai bladesmithing traditions, and dha/daab clearly made using Japanese swordmaking traditions such as folded steel and the use of refractory clay to selectively harden the edge – see this one, for example). This appears to be just one more.