Sword from the lesser Sunda islands (Timor?)

[ausjulius]

nice example to see. youd think they woudl actually be more information on these but even among Portuguese and dutch collectors theyer obscure.. or even info on the different timorese ethic styles and different tools ect.

historically timor was a centre of blade making in this area of the archipelago
.. and this style has been transported to papua. the back of the tip of the native papuan made knives is sharp though and their larger blades also have worked spines and punch work which the timorese do not.. ..
but apparently the maccassans would buy the blades in timor and then sell them again in the areas where they traded with the west part of papua.. introducing steel working .. and this same pointy blade..

[kai]

Hello ausjulius,

youd think they woudl actually be more information on these but even among Portuguese and dutch collectors theyer obscure.. or even info on the different timorese ethic styles and different tools ect.

Actually, there is quite a bit to be found in old, antique books, etc. Specializing in these swords and doing more research would be great IMHO!

Also, while genuine antique pieces have never been common, these swords are represented in collections (private as well as musea). Quite a few seem to be in "tribal art" collections and also most weapon collectors will only have one example of the "type" from Nusantara timur rather than focusing on them. I'd suggest to join forces and contribute to a better understanding - posting and discussing any extant examples in this forum would be a first step which might later be follwed up upon by a dedicated group of enthusiasts.

historically timor was a centre of blade making in this area of the archipelago
.. and this style has been transported to papua. the back of the tip of the native papuan made knives is sharp though and their larger blades also have worked spines and punch work which the timorese do not.. ..
but apparently the maccassans would buy the blades in timor and then sell them again in the areas where they traded with the west part of papua.. introducing steel working .. and this same pointy blade..

I'm not sure I'm following you - could you post examples of what you refer to, please?

Regards,
Kai