Thank you Gustav.
Jean, I would be extremely reluctant to identify the form of the nose, or of the ears, or of any other part of this hilt as indicative of age.
Why?
Because current era carvings of this hilt form are, in general, copies of earlier hilts, sometimes fragmented earlier hilts, but those earlier hilts themselves were again copies of hilts that came down from a previous time.
The cheap modern productions that we generally see are turned out like Bali art carvings, but the high quality hilts made by m'ranggis use patterns and models that have been in the craftsman's family for generations. Certainly, these vary, but they vary in accordance with what one m'ranngi's family carves, as opposed to what another family carves.
Yes, the an acceptable reading of the abstraction between the figure's knees is of his reproductive organs, however, we must never forget that we are dealing with a society that is based upon death and renewal, so the way in which this symbolism is read can often be a little bit too simplistic.
When we consider the tumpal it is important to understand that an upright tumpal is representative of the gunungan and all associated icons, and also of the male element. The inverted tumpal is symbolic of the female element. The small yoni inserted in the base of the tumpal completes the Hindu-Javanese iconography of the Lingga-Yoni.
There are a number of ways that this symbolism can be interpreted, but it is perhaps sufficient to recognise that it is representive of Siwa's Shakti, Siwa himself being represented by the gunungan.
As a complete entity of lingga-yoni we have the symbolism of continual renewal --- plus a whole heap of other symbols.
What I've written above is all well known, nothing new or special there, but Gustav's words intrigued me, so I eagerly await his response.
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