FINE SWORD, INDONESIA OR MALAYSIAN ?

Ron Anderson · 1st October 2010, 05:17 AM

On the good ones I'd expect the whole wood base of the scabbard to be covered in silver.

In this case, it may have been gold to match the hilt. The gold or silver might well have been plain if typical of the genre.

I don't think it would have been just wood.

If the hilt is wood than I think it's likely to be from somewhere other than Lombok, where they really do seem to like their hilts to be buffalo horn.

Of course, I have seen the occasional sword a with wood hilt from Lombok, but not these klewangs. They're generally horn.

Ron Anderson · 1st October 2010, 05:21 AM

Hi Vandoo

The hilt actually looks like buffalo horn to me.

It's hard to tell just by looking sometimes. But it looks more like horn than wood. You can't rely on the description either, because most people don't investigate any further. It kind of looks like wood, so they just assume it's wood and describe it as such.

Ron Anderson · 1st October 2010, 05:36 AM

Looking at the shading, and the grain, it's almost certain this is buffalo horn.

They apparently boil it before working it.

When I get the chance, I'll try post pictures of the horn hilts I have. I have about 20 Lombok hilts, all figural and quite exquisitely carved.

Ron Anderson · 1st October 2010, 05:50 AM

However, I agree with Gav that the chiseling on the forte is also worth noting.

It really is nice work all round.

Maurice · 1st October 2010, 05:04 PM

Looking at the shape of the blade, I still would vote for Sumatran.. ;-)
Also I have seen several Sumatran pedangs with horn hilts in the shape as this one, only plain without that beautifull floral design carved in it.
I am still thinking that the handle is horn, as far as I can see on the image, but I can be mistaken ofcourse.
Horn by the way is used on all the islands of the indonesian archipellago. I am not sure if it is correct to say that when it is horn, it probably is Lombok.

In Sumatra also a lot of handles are made of carabao horn...

A friend of mine has 6 of these pedangs in his collection. All with gold and suassa and complete with scabbards.

Two of them have upward curved blades, and the scabbards of those two are both plain wood.

Three of them have a similar scabbard as the one Vandoo posted. One scabbard with no decoration at all, one with a suassa scabbardtip and suassa scabbardmouth, and one with a silver scabbardtip and silver scabbardmouth, and one silver band in between.
But none of the 6 have very highly decorated scabbards with gold as you would think it should have....

Battara · 1st October 2010, 07:48 PM

Maurice would your friend allow you to post these pieces and/or their scabbards?

In the meantime, Maurice the pieces with swassa, were the scabbard top and bottoms repoussed to match the hilt work or were they plain?

Maurice · 1st October 2010, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Battara

Maurice would your friend allow you to post these pieces and/or their scabbards?

In the meantime, Maurice the pieces with swassa, were the scabbard top and bottoms repoussed to match the hilt work or were they plain?

Sorry, can't post the images that aren't mine..

The suassa scabbardpieces on top and bottom are plain, just as the suassa parts on the hilt. The golden sleeve in the middle has nice repoussed floral decorations...

1st October 2010, 07:48 PM	#6
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,280	Maurice would your friend allow you to post these pieces and/or their scabbards? In the meantime, Maurice the pieces with swassa, were the scabbard top and bottoms repoussed to match the hilt work or were they plain? Last edited by Battara; 1st October 2010 at 07:59 PM.

1st October 2010, 05:17 AM	#1
Ron Anderson Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 228	On the good ones I'd expect the whole wood base of the scabbard to be covered in silver. In this case, it may have been gold to match the hilt. The gold or silver might well have been plain if typical of the genre. I don't think it would have been just wood. If the hilt is wood than I think it's likely to be from somewhere other than Lombok, where they really do seem to like their hilts to be buffalo horn. Of course, I have seen the occasional sword a with wood hilt from Lombok, but not these klewangs. They're generally horn.

1st October 2010, 05:21 AM	#2
Ron Anderson Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 228	Hi Vandoo The hilt actually looks like buffalo horn to me. It's hard to tell just by looking sometimes. But it looks more like horn than wood. You can't rely on the description either, because most people don't investigate any further. It kind of looks like wood, so they just assume it's wood and describe it as such.

1st October 2010, 05:36 AM	#3
Ron Anderson Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 228	Looking at the shading, and the grain, it's almost certain this is buffalo horn. They apparently boil it before working it. When I get the chance, I'll try post pictures of the horn hilts I have. I have about 20 Lombok hilts, all figural and quite exquisitely carved.

1st October 2010, 05:50 AM	#4
Ron Anderson Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 228	However, I agree with Gav that the chiseling on the forte is also worth noting. It really is nice work all round.

1st October 2010, 05:04 PM	#5
Maurice Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,453	Looking at the shape of the blade, I still would vote for Sumatran.. ;-) Also I have seen several Sumatran pedangs with horn hilts in the shape as this one, only plain without that beautifull floral design carved in it. I am still thinking that the handle is horn, as far as I can see on the image, but I can be mistaken ofcourse. Horn by the way is used on all the islands of the indonesian archipellago. I am not sure if it is correct to say that when it is horn, it probably is Lombok. In Sumatra also a lot of handles are made of carabao horn... A friend of mine has 6 of these pedangs in his collection. All with gold and suassa and complete with scabbards. Two of them have upward curved blades, and the scabbards of those two are both plain wood. Three of them have a similar scabbard as the one Vandoo posted. One scabbard with no decoration at all, one with a suassa scabbardtip and suassa scabbardmouth, and one with a silver scabbardtip and silver scabbardmouth, and one silver band in between. But none of the 6 have very highly decorated scabbards with gold as you would think it should have....