A rare Burmese dha

[Iain]

Originally Posted by Ian

Hi Iain,

Yes, the tip does seem unusual. However, I think that some of this is due to wear. What may once have been a fairly squared off end, or perhaps slightly concave, seems to have lost some steel on its lower edge--the part of the tip that is rounded off. If we account for some significant wear there, then the tip was probably not all that unusual when it was created. There are certainly Thai and Lao daab that had square ends or slightly concave ones. Another possibility is a HuSa daab from the Achang in southern Yunnan. They make fine quality swords and are culturally related to the Shan, who are found in northern Thailand, the Shan States of south-eastern Burma/Myanmar, and southern Yunnan. I'm thinking this sword was made it that general area.

I doubt that this is a Burman dha. It would be good to see pictures of the spine which you mention as indicating a Burmese origin.

Hi Ian,

Thanks for your comments, I have the benefit of course of having the sword in hand and I am quite sure the tip has not seen significant losses or reshaping. This is an uncommon but not unknown tip form and was definitely made this way.

I'm including a few images of the spine and decoration, these elements taken as a group are what leads me to attribute it as Burmese, although I do not mean it is an ethnicallly Bamar sword. In fact another that I am attaching is very similar in terms of the blade profile although a lot more bling! That one was sold some years ago by a dealer.

It very likely is from the north of Burma and could easily be from as far north as Yunnan. As you well know the same ethnic groups can be found on both sides including the Shan. I don't think we can put an exact ethnic label on this piece but I am quite confident it is from within the modern borders of Burma.