Dayak mandau

[colin henshaw]

Originally Posted by asomotif

I am always a little reluctant to put dates on mandaus.

However, mandaus of similar style and craftmanship are depicted in a Swiss book : "Aufschlussreiches Borneo, Der Geologe Wolfgang Leopold in Niederländisch-Indien 1921-1927" (Zürich 2011)

So this mandau could date to pre ww2.

Best regards,
Willem

PS, this one is better than those in the book. especially the scabbard

Many thanks for the information on the mandau, Willem. It ties in with what the auction house said - that it was from descendants of an English family, who had travelled overseas in the early 20th century....

This Dayak ? mask, was also part of the group - can you tell me anything about it please ?

Regards
Colin

[asomotif]

Hello Collin,

That is a rather unusual mask. Not a type that I know.
Do you have a picture of the back ?

Ps. here a picture of the mandau from the bookI mentioned.

Best regards,
Willem

[Indianajones]

Hello Colin,
to my opinion your mandau is very well from the 1920's and originates from the Sarawak (;English side of Borneo) from the Iban-tribe, which I see from the so-called 'elbow-carvings' (which suppose to be leeches).
Often pieces, under which mandaus, where made and carved on order by the Chief with the special intention of giving them to special friends/important visitors. Hence the very nice details (but slightly unpractical) on the sheath and the lack of usagepatine.
Best regards,

[asomotif]

Dear Collin,

The mandau that I posted for comparisson is collected by Wolfgang Leupold in North East Borneo near the Kayan river.
The white/red/black coloured goat hair is in my opinion quite typical for the kayan and kenyah tribes.

If you check a map with various tribes from Hornbill and Dragon (B. Sellato 1992) you see that kayan and kenyah tribes are neighouring tribes of the Iban.
The leech pattern is found a lot on Kayan /Kenyah carvings but is indeed also found a lot on Iban scabbards and other tribes.

Your mandau may well have been collected in Sarawak (the english provenance being an inportant hint ) but I would not call it Iban as Wouter does.
maybe a matter of different 'mores', different opinions

All together it is a very nice example in prestine condition.

Ps. looking forward to the additional picture of the mask.

Best regards,
Willem