Mandau for comment

[Sajen]

After I have had some time ago no good luck by a buy in e-bay (the seller have been very nice and I don't have to take it) I buy now a Mandau by Herman Historica and I think that it is a good and old one. Now I want to read your comments and special I want to know from which tribe it is.
It is 74 cm long, the blade alone is 58 cm and 1 cm thick at the base.
Many thank's in advance,
sajen

[Sajen]

Some more pics! Thank you Arjan for your helpful advise.

[ariel]

What always surprises me is a somewhat condescending attitude to non-industrial societies. Thus, the Asian nomads could not make swords and acquired them from the "settled" societies, tribal people made primitive weapons ( perhaps, with the exception of wood/horn carving, but, heck, they had all the time in the world!), etc, etc.
But then we look at this Mandau, made by head-hunting tribesmen, without any organized industrial base, and look at the quality of the blade and the intricacy of metalwork! They were professional metalwork artists!
Either we overestimate the complexity needed for such endeavors or grossly underestimate the technological abilities of small tribal masters ( perhaps, both).
My hat is off to the bladesmith who made this weapon! Nothing Passau or Toledo would be ashamed of.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by ariel

What always surprises me is a somewhat condescending attitude to non-industrial societies. Thus, the Asian nomads could not make swords and acquired them from the "settled" societies, tribal people made primitive weapons ( perhaps, with the exception of wood/horn carving, but, heck, they had all the time in the world!), etc, etc.
But then we look at this Mandau, made by head-hunting tribesmen, without any organized industrial base, and look at the quality of the blade and the intricacy of metalwork! They were professional metalwork artists!
Either we overestimate the complexity needed for such endeavors or grossly underestimate the technological abilities of small tribal masters ( perhaps, both).
My hat is off to the bladesmith who made this weapon! Nothing Passau or Toledo would be ashamed of.

Thank you Ariel for comment. Yes, I agree complete with you, when I see the Mandau in real (the pic from the seller have been very small) I am very positiv surprised and don't understand that it is not sold by the live auction, the price have been very cheap.
sajen

[Amuk Murugul]

Originally Posted by Sajen

..... very positiv surprised and don't understand that it is not sold by the live auction, the price have been very cheap.
sajen

I tested my theory ( a generalisation, I know) at this auction and wasn't disappointed. People attending these auctions don't like items with imperfections/defects/deficiencies or 'cheap'-looking items when there are 'better'-looking, "WOW!" items available at the same auction. Sometimes too many items of the same type don't sell well either.
Hats off , however, to the collector who got the 'kingfisher' keris. More than I would be prepared to pay.

I whole-heartedly agree with ariel's comment, especially the first sentence. 'nuff said!

As for Dayak smithing, well, they've been working with metals longer than most people in the archipelago. After all, they were the first "Malay" people to settle the island, about 3k years ago and hence became "indigenous". OF COURSE their work is second to none.
You should see how they made long blow-pipes the traditional way. I saw one being made which took about one month!... selecting the single branch, standing it on its end and SLOWWLLYYY pushing a long thin metal rod down the centre, constantly wetting and pushing... etc. etc.

Best,

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Amuk Murugul

Hats off , however, to the collector who got the 'kingfisher' keris. More than I would be prepared to pay.

Best,

Hello Amuk,
I think you speak about No. 3240. This one also catch my eyes!

Do you have any suggestion from which tribe this mandau?

sajen