VOC BLADES: A comprehensive look

erikscollectables · 25th February 2014, 06:37 PM

Some time ago I was trying to write an article about podang variations and also came across a few Batak pieces with VOC blades. I will try to retrace pictures of those.

My working hypothesis for that article was - based on the examples I had seen was that the VOC mark had "status" for the Batak hence that local made blades bore the VOC markings without any reference of them being used by the Dutch.

Supporting hypotheses were:
-Locally made blades with the VOC mark exist
-The VOC mark was not added for tourists
-The VOC mark has added value for the user

I found some examples that would fit the descriptions but nothing substantial unfortunately.

Here some pictures from a 1903 auction that included a Batak podang with a VOC blade.

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25th February 2014, 06:37 PM	#22
erikscollectables Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 318	Some time ago I was trying to write an article about podang variations and also came across a few Batak pieces with VOC blades. I will try to retrace pictures of those. My working hypothesis for that article was - based on the examples I had seen was that the VOC mark had "status" for the Batak hence that local made blades bore the VOC markings without any reference of them being used by the Dutch. Supporting hypotheses were: -Locally made blades with the VOC mark exist -The VOC mark was not added for tourists -The VOC mark has added value for the user I found some examples that would fit the descriptions but nothing substantial unfortunately. Here some pictures from a 1903 auction that included a Batak podang with a VOC blade.