Another Unique Malay Sundang

[DAHenkel]

While this is clearly Malay I have a feeling it is not Peninsular but could be Riau or Bornean Malay. I have some pictures floating around somewhere but I can't find any of them at the moment. Will dig a bit deeper when I have time...

[CharlesS]

Would love to see some pics of them as worn...Thanks DAHenkel

[Gustav]

There is one slightly similar in Museum Negara Melaka.

Your specimen has lost some material abowe the greneng (or what is left of it). Is the clamp original or a restoration? Almost all with this kind of fullers I have seen are coming (now?) without clamp.

[kai]

Hello Gustav,

Thanks for the pics!

There is one slightly similar in Museum Negara Melaka.

Would certainly be nice to see the full blade. OTOH, the base features are very different from Charles example - I'm not sure we can argue a close origin based on only the fullers.

Your specimen has lost some material abowe the greneng (or what is left of it).

I'd guess that the greneng of Charles' piece are original (only slightly worn).

Regards,
Kai

[kai]

Hello Dave,

While this is clearly Malay I have a feeling it is not Peninsular but could be Riau or Bornean Malay. I have some pictures floating around somewhere but I can't find any of them at the moment. Will dig a bit deeper when I have time...

Yes, Riau sounds good to me, too - I'd consider the whole straits area (western/southern peninsula, northeastern coastal Sumatra, and the whole Riau archipelago) as predominantly of Malay culture.

The few antique keris sundang from Brunei I've seen had blades that looked like typical Sulu blades (considering the historical ties between the 2 sultanates, this is not really surprising). Have you pics of any examples from other Malay settlements on Borneo?

Regards,
Kai