A Sulawesi sword for discussion
 

I came across this Sulawesi sword, at least I think that it comes from Sulawesi.
I have never seen such a handle form by Sulawesi swords and I would be thankful when someone could provide a similar handle. This one is carved from wood. The scabbard is from wood covered with leather and silver mounts, the blade has loose a lot of material, I guess due corrosion but was cleaned and shows now a very topographic lamination.
It's 57,7 cm inside the scabbard, 54 cm without, and the blade is 41,5 cm long.
The last two pictures show it together with an alameng in my collection.

A few more pics.

Nice match with the alameng. I can't help with the handle. The leather over wood with silver does not seem like a common Sulawesi feature, nor elsewhere in Indonesia from my (limited) experience. The spiral feature at base of the blade is certainly common for Sulawesi, we were recently commentng on that on another thread. I like the topographic lamination, do you suppose that could have been an intentional finish versus extensive material loss?

Hi Jeff,

Thank you very much for your comment! :) The leather cover on the scabbard is indeed seldom seen by Indonesian blades i.e. their scabbards but I've seen a few, especially by Javanese swords. And yes, I am pretty sure that the topographic lamination is a result of corrosion and afterwards cleaning.

Regards,
Detlef

Hi,

I've seen leather covered scabbards several times on old (or even very old) swords from different areas.
For instance on javanese pedang, south Celebes swords, achenese swords (peudeueng) etc.

Best,
Maurice

This was my south Celebes sword with VOC blade (made original in Solingen for cutlasses / hangers, and with sword cutters marks/VOC monograms/VOC chamber initials/date).

The scabbard is leather over wood, and silver mountings.
(photo credits: Peter Dekker / Mandarin Mansion)

Great example Maurice! Thank you for sharing, also when it's no longer in your collection.

Regards,
Detlef