JeffS

Hello

I would love to receive any information or suggestions concerning this Sewar. I originally thought it was a Keris, but learned on Bladeforums of my mistake. I recently received this from my mother's husband who's father collected it in Sumatra between 1915 - 1918.



-- Jeff
BTW - This is a great forum. I'm looking forwad to learning about collecting Ethnographic weapons.

kai

Welcome Jeff,

This seems to be a really nice piece with well-tempered edge (that dark zone extending from the tip along the edge).

Please post close-ups if possible - this would help assessing the materials utilized.


Well, you'd probably be better off if you were to sell this right away - this stuff can be pretty addictive...

Regards,
Kai

Battara

Kai has a good point about the addiction problem.....uh.....anyway, it looks like the bands on the scabbard and the hilt are silver with the pommel of the sewar and the bottom of the scabbard possibly being of bone, though better closeups would be more helpful and help determine materials better (especially if bone or ivory). The black part of the hilt of course is horn.

Alam Shah

A very nice sewar indeed.
Welcome to the forum.
You can search this forum for more info, under "sewar", "sewah", "siwah".

JeffS

What you are seeing there is a shadow from the scanner instead of a temper line. The blade flats are contoured - almost grooved, sort of fuller like. Sorry, not sure what the correct terminology is. Hopefully the larger pics will help you see what I mean. I also included a closeup to show the grain texture in the steel.



Actually it is some type of dark hardwood. I don't recognize the type though.

Thanks again for helping me learn about this. This is very exciting. I'm brand new to the world of ethnographic weapons, though I do have a Kinjal I purchased in Turkey that I will post another time. I'm curious if it is the real deal or not.

Ferguson

I think the dark part of the hilt is indeed carabao horn. I zoomed in on your excellent photo of the hilt and the grain looks like old horn. See how at a couple of places you see lighter streaks that are almost very fine cracks? Also, it looks like a small "bug bite" where an insect has been eating the handle, common with horn. Of course, you have it in your hand and can see better than a picture, so it may be wood.

Very nice sewar!

Steve Ferguson

Battara

I agree with Ferguson regarding the look of the hilt - looks like horn to me. Also now that I can see better in the pictures, the pommel looks more like bone.

JeffS

Thanks Steve (and everyone else who pointed this out)

My imagination was seeing wood grain in the handle, but now I see that you are all correct. The grain lines all run parallel and looks fibrous like horn. I was wondering what that hole was.

I also re-read the post by kai and looked closer at the temper line he was noting. I'm used to very distinct temper lines in modern forged blades so am wondering if I also jumped to conclusions concerning the "fuller" shadow causing the temper line. It is not distinct but the steel along the edge does seem to be bit darker.

What do you suppose caused the grainy pattern in the steel. Did they use some kind of wootz?

mmontoro

The ferrule looks a little Batak and the blade rencong-ish. Unusual and nice example to me.

kai

Not wootz/bulat but the blade seems to be pattern welded.

Regards,
Kai

JeffS

Adding photo since original photos (15 years ago!) are no longer hosted.
Any thoughts which Sumatran ethnic group this may have come from?

Attached Images

 

kai

Hello Jeff,

Thanks for rescuing this thread by making a pic available again!

Could you possibly add some more close-ups, please?

How good is the fit of the blade in the scabbard?

Regards,
Kai

JeffS

Unfortunately I don't have it with me, but here are the pictures I took in 2005. As I recall the fit in the scabbard is good though the "cross piece" portion of the scabbard is lose and slides off easily (this can be seen in the photos). This was collected along with a Batak pustaha which sadly was not also given to me! However I do not have evidence that they were collected from the same community.

Attached Images

     

kai

Hello Jeff,

Thanks for the additional pics! This is a tough nut to crack and will possibly need detailed personal examination for reliable results.

From the pics, my estimate would be:
1. Genuine antique rencong blade from Aceh (these are known to have diffundated into more southern areas)
2. The hilt with silver ferrule vibes well with Karo Batak usage; might well be antique or possibly pre-WW2. How is the bone(?) end piece attached?
3. The carved motifs on the scabbard appear to be a somewhat later style that developed during the 20th century; it seems to often come out of workshops in Medan rather than traditional Batak regions. The type of crosspiece is not typical for any Batak group (also of Aceh origin originally). From the craftsmanship and materials, I'd be inclined to believe the scabbard is a post-WW2 replacement.

Regards,
Kai