Philippine Sword?

[Edster]

Why does the face have to be some sort of Symbolism? Why can't it just be Art? Images of Javanese facial masks are cultural, look similar, but without the ear. Once the face was made on the sword pommel, the scabbard maker just followed suit, but sans ear.

Just a thought.
Ed

[David]

Originally Posted by Edster

Why does the face have to be some sort of Symbolism? Why can't it just be Art? Images of Javanese facial masks are cultural, look similar, but without the ear. Once the face was made on the sword pommel, the scabbard maker just followed suit, but sans ear.

Well, in most cases with an original ensemble the person who made the hilt would also be the person to make the sheath. Of course this may not be an original ensemble. But i would say that it would be highly unlikely that a face would be placed on the dress of an old Indonesian sword just to simply be decorative. There would always be some meaning behind such an addition to the dress. In Jawa masks that are part of the culture (not made for import or tourists) always have some significance. They are Wayang Topeng and are used in a form of sacred theatre.
But these faces don't particularly resemble any of the Wayang Topeng i have seen. When a face is placed on a hilt and/or sheath like this it is there for a purpose, generally as a guardian to protect the owner and the blade. These guardians can be gods, demons or ancestral spirits, but they are not there merely to be decorative art.

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by Edster

Why does the face have to be some sort of Symbolism? Why can't it just be Art? Images of Javanese facial masks are cultural, look similar, but without the ear. Once the face was made on the sword pommel, the scabbard maker just followed suit, but sans ear.

Just a thought.
Ed

Ed, everything is symbolic, the point is you need to know the meaning.
Especially on weapons, even on European swords, the oak acorn is the strength... Any single piece of decoration has a meaning, and sometimes use.
So yes these two faces have a symbolic.

[Edster]

Kubur,

I see you are a student of philosophy as well as ethnographic weapons. In my simple way I meant that "symbolism" is a cultural expression while "art" is a personal expression. Both efforts exhibit "meaning" and sometimes they overlap. Often when archaeologists view an puzzling object the default explanation is "it must have symbolic/religious meaning/significance". But sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Can we agree that all man made objects have "meaning"? Otherwise, what's the point of the effort? Sometimes the meaning is cultural or personal or objective/use. The sword in question exhibits all three.

Best regards,
Ed