Identifying 3 hilts

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Calon Arang & Rarung are both female.

I cannot clearly see if this figure has the attributes of a woman, but it appears not to have.

I have seen many fairly recent examples of this hilt form that are all clearly meant to be female so i believe it is safe to assume this one also exhibits some feminine form if viewed from the right angle.
Still had to be sure if it is meant to represent Calon Arang or any other specific female character though. I don't believe i have ever seen this form in an antique hilt. If anyone has an antique example i would love to see it. But until then i consider this form to be contemporary in nature.

[A. G. Maisey]

The carver might know what he intended to carve --- on the other hand even he might be a bit curious about exactly who he finished up producing.

I have watched carvers --- and silver chasers too --- allowing their hands to work quite independently of their attention, while they talked, smoked or watched TV.

[milandro]

I have come across this very crude example of an ultramodern (and rather unfinished) hilt with some character with the hair covering the face, I can’t say who this may represent but again just showing it to show the fact that this theme , rare though it is, surfaces every now and again.

[milandro]

found another depiction of this deity, also this identified as Rarung