Appreciation of Palembang hilt

[Newsteel]

A friend ever brought a similar ivory piece to a late mastercarver in Kelantan (northern Malaysia) and hope to seek some pointers how a mranggi would achieved something like this. The explaination he got was pretty simple - he (the mranggi or carver) is very skillful and definite got his special knife or tools in order to carve like that.