Mandau

[werecow]

Those swirls in that ivory hilt are lovely.

[Pertinax]

Congratulations Marc!

Very cool swords!
What is the diameter of the coin slot?

With respect,
Yuri.

[Marc M.]

Originally Posted by Pertinax

Congratulations Marc!

Very cool swords!
What is the diameter of the coin slot?

With respect,
Yuri.

Hi Yuri

About 15mm.

Regards
Marc

[Pertinax]

Marc there may have been a coin - Netherlands India 1/10 guilder. I have a Mandau that was also without a coin, I bought it online for a small amount of money.

See the thread:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=29680

With respect,
Yuri.

[Tim Simmons]

The real deal can be problematic . A sword made for dancing, once used to attack a person becomes real. WW2 era swords were used and Iban warriors in the UK Borneo 1963 -1966 dispute swords were used. These look nice but not sure they will impress the old guard.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons

The real deal can be problematic . A sword made for dancing, once used to attack a person becomes real. WW2 era swords were used and Iban warriors in the UK Borneo 1963 -1966 dispute swords were used. These look nice but not sure they will impress the old guard.

Nearly all swords are made to kill people!

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by werecow

Those swirls in that ivory hilt are lovely.

I don't think that the hilt is carved from ivory.

[Marc M.]

Originally Posted by Sajen

I don't think that the hilt is carved from ivory.

Hi Detlef
It is ivory, the Schreger lines are clearly visible.
regards
Marc

[David]

Originally Posted by Sajen

I don't think that the hilt is carved from ivory.

Looks like elephant ivory to my eye. See the cross-hatched lines? I do think this is a bit unusual, which makes this mandau a bot special. Certainly not made for those that travel.

[Battara]

I agree with David on the cross hatching - elephant ivory

[Pertinax]

Originally Posted by David

Looks like elephant ivory to my eye. See the cross-hatched lines? I do think this is a bit unusual, which makes this mandau a bot special. Certainly not made for those that travel.

Is there any information about the production of ivory mandau handles in Borneo?

[David]

Originally Posted by Pertinax

Is there any information about the production of ivory mandau handles in Borneo?

Never seen any. But Dayak weapons are only a minor interest for me so someone more invested in them might have better information. I only have one in my collection and it's hilt is deer horn. That is probably what the majority of hilts are made from and you will, of course, find wooden ones. I have read that on rare occasion human bone has been used, but i have never seen an example yet. I have never heard of ivory being used, but this very clearly looks like ivory to my eyes and it is certainly a traditional carving. So it seems to be a rarity to me.

[A. G. Maisey]

I agree that the ivory shown here is most likely elephant ivory.

However, ivory from some other animals does also display schreger lines. An expert in this field of ivory identification can in most cases differentiate the source of an ivory, however, in the case of mammoth ivory it can be somewhere between difficult & impossible to be absolutely certain with any identification.

Fossil ivory has been used in Indonesian artifacts in the past, & is still being used in Indonesian carvings today. In Bali a tour of shops, galleries & workshops that sell ivory carvings will almost always identify the ivory carvings being offered as "mammoth ivory".

[Pertinax]

A.W. Nieuwenhuis in his book "Quer Durch Borneo" describes the Dayaks making mandau handles from deer horn.

The Bornean elephant, or Kalimantan elephant, or Borneo dwarf elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) is a subspecies of the Asian elephant that lives in the northeast of the island of Kalimantan.

[Marc M.]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I agree that the ivory shown here is most likely elephant ivory.

However, ivory from some other animals does also display schreger lines. An expert in this field of ivory identification can in most cases differentiate the source of an ivory, however, in the case of mammoth ivory it can be somewhere between difficult & impossible to be absolutely certain with any identification.

Fossil ivory has been used in Indonesian artifacts in the past, & is still being used in Indonesian carvings today. In Bali a tour of shops, galleries & workshops that sell ivory carvings will almost always identify the ivory carvings being offered as "mammoth ivory".

I suppose a lot of ivory being offered bears the heading ‘mammoth ’ because mammoth ivory is legal to trade. I think it is hard to prove that it is mammoth at the request of customs.
Regards
Marc