My rencong pudoi

[Johan van Zyl]

Goodday friends
I got hold of this rencong pudoi at a boot sale. It is my only item from Aceh that I have at present. Please see pic. I do believe it is antique, perhaps mid to late 1800's, but I realise it is perhaps of a less desirable quality. The blade measures 22 cm and the horn hilt plus metal stud 11.3 cm. The blade seems to have a somewhat undulating pattern near the edge, but not very distinct.

[Johan van Zyl]

Please see pic. Friends, do you think I am reading this correctly? It's shouting "antique", but maybe that's just what I want to hear! The white leafy scroll seems to be some kind of lacquer.
Please tell me what you think. Regards.
Johan

[Sajen]

Hello Johan,

Nice rencong and for sure antique, don't worry!
With a blade length from 22 cm in average size. Handle form is hulu (handle) puntung. The painting on the handle seems to be old so I would keep it.
Nice piece, sadly without scabbard.
Attached a picture of my examples for comparison.

Regards,
Detlef

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Johan van Zyl

The blade seems to have a somewhat undulating pattern near the edge, but not very distinct.

The blades are normally very fine laminated. A good polish and etch will show it very clearly.

[Johan van Zyl]

Detlef, thank you for your reply and the picture showing your own examples. I did not, however, find the equivalent of my example among yours. And that is exactly what set me thinking.
Your example third from left is the only one approximately like mine, except for that "elbow" which makes such a rencong a meucangee. If mine had an "elbow", the hulu would look just like your example. So I took some pics of the end of my rencong hulu, and what I think I see tells me that there might have been an "elbow" there!
It will be important to hear if you and the other friends agree that my rencong is a meucangee and not a pudoi/punting.
Detlef, you have helped to set me straight, thank you, let's see what comes of this! Please see two pics.
Regards, Johan

[Johan van Zyl]

r

[Sajen]

Hello Johan,

Of course it could be that the handle was once a meucangge and the elongation was broken at one time and got recarved and on your new pictures it looks a little bit like this. But anyway, it's now a puntung handle like the one on the left in the attached picture (taken from an old thread, collection from our member Willem), I guess from akar bahar (black coral).

Regards,
Detlef

[Johan van Zyl]

I hold your opinion in this matter in high regard, Detlef, and so I need to confirm what I think you are saying.
You seem quite satisfied that the elongation was broken at some time. You seem to be advising me to accept the fact that the rencong's damage is irreparable and I should leave things be.
However, I am feeling a nagging conviction that it cannot be accurate to say that the handle is now a puntung handle. It was almost certainly made as a meucangge handle. Surely, a puntung handle and a meucangge handle cannot be identical in all respects barring the elongation! Such a belief would infer that if someone should expertly remove a rencong's elongation, then no expert, however experienced, would be able to distinguish between puntung and meucangge.
This leads me to ask you whether you think I could rather try to attach a home-crafted elongation in horn to the handle, to make it the meucangge that it was originally designed to be. Of course, such a replacement must not be intended to deceive!
I am in any case planning to home-craft a scabbard as well, as I cannot bear to see my rencong all naked!
Your further advice will be greatly appreciated.
Regards, Johan

[kai]

Hello Johan,

I'm with Detlef: Keep this hilt as is - it's a genuine rencong from the 19th century.

I agree that this hilt started out as hulu meucangge; at some point the extension got removed and the remaining hilt smoothed out most likely for continued use during its working life as evidenced by the old patina (even if less than that of the remaining horn surface).

While it may have been done as a repair of a hilt that got broken, it may also be an attempt for easing concealed carry. Apparently the Dutch banned wearing of a rencong during their early exploits in northern Sumatra and I remember a claim that many hilts got cut down to bypass persecution - need to find the reference though.

BTW, hulu meucangge constructed from 2 parts are known from ivory and akar bahar. However, this doesn't make sense for horn (which is bend after heating to obtain a structurally sound hilt from a single piece of horn). And a modern replacement will always look off!

As already mentioned, there is quite some diversity of hulu pungtung: Many have decorative carving on the distal pommel while others are plain with just evenly rounded pommel. While some of the latter may indeed be cut down examples, there are a good number carved from akar bahar (as Willem's shown above) or from horn in original configuration as evidenced by its grain. Thus, also these plain hilts are a legitimate type.

Regards,
Kai

[kai]

Hello Johan,

Your post #6 clearly shows that the paint was applied without real craftsmanship. Also the style is nothing like local motifs. I feel certain that this wasn't done by any indigenous North Sumatran ethnic group.

I'd be really inclined to remove this pseudo-embellishment almost certainly done by a foreign culture...

Regards,
Kai

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Johan van Zyl

I hold your opinion in this matter in high regard, Detlef, and so I need to confirm what I think you are saying.
You seem quite satisfied that the elongation was broken at some time. You seem to be advising me to accept the fact that the rencong's damage is irreparable and I should leave things be.

Exactly Johan! Like Kai wrote, horn handles in meucangge style get bent with help from boiling water or oil, I haven't seen examples worked from two pieces of horn, a repair will not look good and will have a faulty appearance.

Regards,
Detlef

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by kai

Your post #6 clearly shows that the paint was applied without real craftsmanship. Also the style is nothing like local motifs. I feel certain that this wasn't done by any indigenous North Sumatran ethnic group.

I'd be really inclined to remove this pseudo-embellishment almost certainly done by a foreign culture...

Hello Kai,

What makes you convinced that the painting was not done in Indonesia? What we can see in the close-ups in #6 is that the painting is rather worn and looks fairly old to my eyes.
I am very careful by removing anything from my items when I am not sure when and by whom it was done.

Regards,
Detlef

[kai]

Hello Detlef,

It seems to be some modern lacquer applied in a hasty way: Note the blisters from uneven application, trapped air bubbles, and tiny splashes (one even seems to sit on the re-carved surface).

I'm confident that this wasn't done by any traditional Aceh/Gayo/Alas artisan. It may well have been done in Medan, Jakarta, Bali, etc. or in South Africa! Compare it with old sunginggan work or lacquer work from Palembang. Moreover, traditional white paint applied on polished horn doesn't stand a chance to hold up well in active use.

Some parts of the paint seem to be loose already. For one's peace of mind, one could try to heat a piece of the paint on a clean hotplate for cooking and test for any artificial/plastic smell... (Do it on your own risk though! Be aware that it may leave unsightly residues, form harmful gases/smoke, scatter very hot blobs, or even ignite.)

Regards,
Kai

[Sajen]

Hello Kai,

I am careful about giving any advice to remove something when I don't have the chance to examine it with my own eyes by handling it. My two cents.

Regards,
Detlef

[kai]

Sure, your mileage may vary, Detlef.

The close-ups yield enough insight IMVHO.

It's Johan's call, obviously.

Regards,
Kai

[Johan van Zyl]

Friends, the way I am reading this is that Kai is in general agreement with Detlef. We have this mutual feeling, that we are morally obliged to preserve what is antique and irreplaceable. That's because we view ourselves as not owners but custodians of objects that should be passed on for the benefit of generations to follow.
Which leads me to decide to err on the side of caution and I will therefor not try to obliterate the foreign-looking leafy scrollwork on the hulu. In any case, I don't think I COULD erase it without compromising in some way the existing patina on the horn.
Of course, the notion I have of home-crafting the missing scabbard is still on the cards. No harm can come of that. No matter that experts might frown on my handiwork, although, when a few years ago I finally completed a scabbard for my Bugis keris of Riau, it did not attract any negative comments!
My thanks to you all for the help you have given in this thread!
Regards
Johan