Perhaps either Gustav or Alan could expand on how these last two posts of this gold hilt from the book Old Javanese Gold or these Nyamba hilts are pertinent to our discussions so far on the original hilt posted. It seems to me that the original post brought two questions into the discussion.
1. A question of material used (is it rhino horn?)
2. A question on judging age based upon the specific ornamental features of the presented hilt.
Certainly these most recent additions to the discussion have nothing to do with the first question, which i tend to agree with Alan is personally of lesser interest to me.
I do believe that this hilt from Old Javanese Gold is most probably from the Mojopahit period, so older than Gustav believes the horn hilt to be (17th century). While it does present a stylized yoni i cannot say that it also presents the lingam in the tumpal at the base of the hilt that Gustav points us to in the horn example. Though the basic form of the buta hilt is similar enough to both Gustav's horn example as well as my more recent wooden ones the specific stylistic ornamental flourishes are not quite the same to either. So i am curious what direction or what further conclusions we can reach by viewing this or Alan's added examples that help us with the initial questions at hand.
Gustav, if you have not obtained Miksic's book yet (as you mention in the thread you linked us to on this gold hilt), he has very little to say about it despite the hilt appearing both on the front and back dust cover, as the full-page chapter lead photo for the Middle and Late Classic Period section of the catalog and once again as a series of three photos showing various sides of the hilt. He does not specifically date the hilt and only writes:
"Its sharp nose and smooth and rather swollen and rounded body are quite similar to those seen in depictions of humans and mythical heroes in shadow puppets (wayang kulit) and in illustrations in other media, such as wayang beber (painted cloth scrolls used in telling stories) and illuminated manuscripts. The monster wears a necklace, originally set in stone."
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