Hi Peter:
The politics of the Shan people and the Burmese Government are complicated, and many Shan who live in the Shan States of Burma have been seeking independence for a long time. They reside also in neighboring Yunnan and northern Thailand. As you note, the Shan are excellent silversmiths and they make fine blades as well. Typically, their blades have no fuller. The blades with fullers and koftgari work are Burman in origin, and the koftgari art was likely introduced to Burma by Indian craftsmen in the 19th C or perhaps earlier. [Longstanding trade between India and Burma is documented, and during the British occupation of Burma in the 19th and 20th C it was administered by the Viceroy of India.]
The dha examples with extensive silver koftgari often depict historical tales from Burmese mythology, while others show more abstract designs with flowing vines and leaves. The more elaborate versions have silver koftgari the whole length of the blade. These high quality swords are sometimes called Mandalay dha, after their assumed place of manufacture. They were produced mainly in the second half of the 19th C. and first 20–30 years of the 20th C.
Related to these fine swords are inferior examples featuring brass-covered hilts and scabbards that appeared in the early 20th C. Early examples were fair quality but they quickly deteriorated into cheap tourist items. They have coarser koftgari work and the blades are of poor quality, often untempered--these are entirely for display and are sometimes referred to as "story dha." Examples of these inferior forms show up online fairly regularly.
Attached are pictures of two high quality, 19th C dha with silver koftgari work that were exhibited in the Museum of Macau's History of Steel.
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