ျမန္မာ ဓါးေကာင္းတစ္စင္း ၆

                                             

Dha, Burma, 19th century, ivory hilt, very nice blade

                                             

Burmese Dha, a beautiful fighting sword, 19th century.
A fine and heavy fighting sword from the mid to late 19th century.
Overall in the scabbard it measures 78cms, out it is a little over 76cms with a quality just under 56cms long.
The hilt is Ivory with a fine checkered grip carved to the surface topped with geometric chevron design to each end. Stable cracks with no losses or movement as is common with old ivory.
All fittings are silver and uncleaned. Whilst the silver scabbard throat and four rings remain tothe scabbard, there is loss to the silver fitting on the end of the scabbard and several other rings that bound the scabbard. The scabbard is a beautifully grained timber and remains in tact.
The heavy fighting blade is superb. The spine dips and is flat for the 9cms and then raises to the pronounced ridge running through to the full tip. Being nearly 12mm thick at the hilt, the spine also displays copper inserts. The face of the blade at the hilt, too both sides, there are flower motifs with a large brass inserted centre in which sits a copper centre. Forward of these motifs is a bird on a wreath, most likely a Phoenix.
The blade itself is fully hollow ground to both sides, retains a good edge and shows light pitting to some areas of the blade towards the tip.
Overall a very fine Dha with very unusual markings, most likely a one off production unique in nature that is both a capable fighter and a symbol of Prestege in the day.

Saw Min Phyu >>>