Sarawak Mandau Sword or Parang #2

Ian · 7th July 2015, 12:29 PM

John:

I'm sorry that nobody has been along so far to help you with your questions. I'm no expert on parang ihlang, but this does look to have some age. The scabbard shows nice age patina and obviously spent some time in a smoky home environment before Mr Lu acquired it. The blade has some old-looking oxidation on it, consistent with the time period that you have had it or longer. If you plan to keep the blade in its present condition you might want to stabilize the oxidation with tannic acid and then keep it lightly oiled periodically. Otherwise you could clean and polish it to maintain it in the way its original owner would have.

As to age, it's hard to say from just looking at the pictures. At a guess, I would say early to mid-20th C.

With regard to rarity, I'm not seeing anything that jumps out at me to say this is an uncommon item. The sword appears to be well made but not especially so, and the scabbard is a nice example.

What is somewhat unusual is the provenance that you have. Not many of these swords have a site of origin that is as well documented as yours.

Regards,

Ian.

7th July 2015, 12:29 PM	#2
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	John: I'm sorry that nobody has been along so far to help you with your questions. I'm no expert on parang ihlang, but this does look to have some age. The scabbard shows nice age patina and obviously spent some time in a smoky home environment before Mr Lu acquired it. The blade has some old-looking oxidation on it, consistent with the time period that you have had it or longer. If you plan to keep the blade in its present condition you might want to stabilize the oxidation with tannic acid and then keep it lightly oiled periodically. Otherwise you could clean and polish it to maintain it in the way its original owner would have. As to age, it's hard to say from just looking at the pictures. At a guess, I would say early to mid-20th C. With regard to rarity, I'm not seeing anything that jumps out at me to say this is an uncommon item. The sword appears to be well made but not especially so, and the scabbard is a nice example. What is somewhat unusual is the provenance that you have. Not many of these swords have a site of origin that is as well documented as yours. Regards, Ian.