A Very Nice Dha/Daab

[Ian]

Hi Charles.

Beautiful daab. The ivory carving and metalwork are all first class. Just a magnificent piece of workmanship. The hilt is very reminiscent of Burmese work, and might be Burmese in origin, but the length of the hilt is longer than on most Burmese swords which suggests to me more of a Thai/Lao origin, hence a daab. The blade with its small fullers and pointed tip also looks Thai/Lao, and not a typical Burmese style.

The heavy repoussed silver work would be unusual for Shan work, who usually favor filigree styles on swords and scabbards, but more in line with Lao silver work I think.

I would suggest this is N. Thai or Lao in origin, perhaps with a Burmese ivory hilt (although there were talented ivory carvers in the same area of Thailand/Laos capable of doing this work). I'm not sure how much Shan work went into this one.

Congrats on owning this lovely sword!