Aceh pommels with tassels - a hairy issue?

[kai]

Submitted via email - thanks, Karel!

Originally Posted by Karel Sirag

COLL.NR: 12-29
ORIGIN: Sumatra, Aceh.
SWORD: Gliwang. TYPE: Gliwang Ladiëng.
TOTAL LENGTH: 70 cm.
BLADE: Iron. LENGTH: 53,3 cm.
HILT: Greenish Buffalo Horn, carved. HEIGTH: 16,7 cm.
TASSEL: (probably) Horse hair, brown. LENGTH: 35 cm. (Measured from attachment to very tip.)
AGE: Old piece, could be first quarter of 19th cent.

NOTE 1: The back of the hilt is only partly carved.
NOTE 2: The hair is fastened inside the pommel cavity with a wooden plug and a metal pin. This pin can be seen on the photograph of the uncarved side of the hilt. At a later time, a light brown substance got added along the margin of the cavity.

[kai]

Hello Karel,

Originally Posted by Karel Sirag

NOTE 1: The back of the hilt is only partly carved.

Yes, I've seen a more elaborately carved "show" side with quite a few hilts from the greater Aceh region.

Originally Posted by Karel Sirag

NOTE 2: The hair is fastened inside the pommel cavity with a wooden plug and a metal pin. This pin can be seen on the photograph of the uncarved side of the hilt. At a later time, a light brown substance got added along the margin of the cavity.

The brownish (hardened) paste does indeed look like a later addition to fill the crevices around the tassel attachment, probably for cosmetic reasons (given that the metal pin is very likely to hold the wooden plug tightly enough).

The pinned construction is certainly unusual for the whole archipelago.

Regards,
Kai