[Ian]

An interesting composite sword. One wonders why and how a NE Indian/Pakistani blade came to be mounted in this unusal manner and where that occurred. One possibility is a traveler, moving from east to west, and that raises further questions about who that might be (Southern Asian, SE Asian, or European?) and why they would choose to mount the sword in this manner.

Some observations on the blade. I agree that it is most likely NE Indian/Pakistani. The fuller, ricasso, and heavy stamp mark have already been mentioned as most likely from that area. A square end to the blade would be most uncommon for that region. There seems to be consensus that the blade has been shortened to give it the square end. Some ethnic groups in NW India and neighboring areas have been mentioned as groups that use such square-ended blades, however the preference for such blade tips is almost exclusively on straight blades, not curved ones (there are uncommon exceptions on Thai/Lao blades, some Shan blades, and some southern Yunnan examples such as HuSa). The Kachin/Jingpaw in the more northern areas of Burma and Yunnan use only straight-bladed dha/dao with flat ends.

The dha/dao of NW India do not have guards and the length of their hilts on flat-ended blades is quite short (shorter than the hilt on the original post). Similarly, Burmese dha have relatively short hilts and no guard. Shan, Thai/Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese daab/dao oftenhave longer hilts, and Southern Yunnan, Thai/Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese swords can have disc guards (similar to the O.P.).

With respect to the hilt, I find it a little surprising that a smooth cylinder of turned wood has been used for the grip. This is not very practical because when such a grip is wet (as from blood or water) it becomes slippery and hard to hold. For this reason hilt surfaces are textured or wrapped in materials that give a firmer grip when wet. Also, a circular grip is the least stable in the hand and likely to twist while being used. Lastly is the small, nondescript pommel of ivory or bone, attached with a pin, that offers no clue to its ethnic origin. To me the hilt has some SE Asian/southern Chinese familiarity but I suspect its assembly had European influence also.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this sword looks most like some of the dao from Vietnam, notably the southern part. There was a lot of trade between Vietnamese ports and the south-eastern coast of India, thus ample opportunity for a sword from NE India to make its way to southern Vietnam. Sea travel would have been a much easier route than traversing India overland to reach SE Asia.

Iain Norman is our resident expert on SE Asian swords and I hope he will stop by and give his opinion here.