Enquiry about object: 3410
Burmese Short Dagger (Dha-hmyaung) with Silver-Inlaid Blade & Ivory Hilt
Burma 19th century
length: 35.3cm, weight: 275g
Provenance
UK art market
This small dagger has a plain, solid ivory hilt, and a blade that is decorated on both sides with silver overlay. The designs on the blade include figures in Burmese attire amid leafy, scrolling shrubbery. Such silver overlay is achieved by lightly scoring the blade with cross-hatching and then hammering silver wire onto the blade in the desired designs.
A wide band of silver covers the lower hilt and this terminates in applied bands of fine, twisted silver wire.
The scabbard is of plain wood that is held together by scalloped bands of silver.
This dagger is in fine condition.
References
Fraser-Lu, S., Burmese Crafts: Past and Present, Oxford University Press, 1994.
Hales, R., Islamic and Oriental Arms and Armour: A Lifetime’s Passion, Robert Hale CI Ltd, 2013.
Tilly, H.L., The Silverwork of Burma (with Photographs by P. Klier), The Superintendent, Government Printing, 1902.
Tilly, H.L., Modern Burmese Silverwork (with Photographs by P. Klier), The Superintendent, Government Printing, 1904.
