Small Indonesian klewang (?)
I'm interested to hear what our Indonesian experts think of this one and where it may be from. The blade has a shape reminiscent of a Moro kampilan, but much shorter. The back half of the blade adjacent to the spine on each side has repeating rows of semicircles containing "o" marks that look a little like eyes--perhaps "eyebrows and eyes" might be an adequate description for the basic motif. The bottom part of the blade on each side is smooth and has a dark patina. The width of the spine at the guard is approximately 5 mm, tapering to 2 mm before turning down to meet the tip.
The guard is made of a supple leather disk with a "milled" edge. The hilt itself has a short grip, only 5 cm on the underside to accommodate the fingers (not nearly big enough for my large, 9.5 cm-wide American palm). Perhaps the sword was intended for a woman or a child. The hilt would be unusually small for an adult male.
I'm unsure what to call the pommel (hulu). Perhaps it is an abstract makara but I'll leave that to others to identify what it may represent.
OAL = 59 cm (23.25 in.)
Blade = 47 cm (18.5 in.)
Hilt = 12.7 cm (5 in.)
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Last edited by Ian; Today at 11:11 AM.
Reason: Spellig
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