A mandau with brass hilt for sharing and comment

[Sajen]

Hello dear members,

Not long ago I came across this from the auction house as "African knife" described mandau with brass hilt.
The scabbard seems to be a newer replacement, the blade seems to be old, by the handle I am unsure but it seems to have some good age, the pitch ferrule is missing and one of the "knobs" and the rotan binding at the handle is just a fragment.
It's the first mandau I've seen with brass hilt! 74,5 cm inside scabbard, 63,5 cm without, blade 51 cm.
All comments are very welcome! Which Dayak tribe? Age?

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Not long ago I came across this from the auction house as "African knife" described mandau with brass hilt.

So much for descriptions of an auction house.

[Ian]

Nice find Sajen. That brass hilt does appear to have some age. Are the Dayak groups prominent workers in brass/bronze? I know that the Murat from further north use brass on their hilts, but not seen much on Dayak swords before. That hilt is a very sophisticated casting and impressive work. It seems to be made in several pieces that were brazed together. Nice brass inlays on the blade too. A piece of distinction for a distinguished person?

[kai]

Hello Detlef,

Congrats, nice find!

I agree that it's not African and that the scabbard looks like a later replacement...

Some of the hilt motifs seem to hint at coastal Malay influence - I'd first check among the ethnic groups of Brunei.

The blade seems of good quality - might be traded from the mountains. How thick is it?

Regards,
Kai

[kai]

Hello Ian,

I know that the Murat from further north use brass on their hilts, but not seen much on Dayak swords before. That hilt is a very sophisticated casting and impressive work. It seems to be made in several pieces that were brazed together.

Murut is a colonial catch-all term for several Dayak ethnic groups (their area stretching from Sabah to Brunei with bits of Sarawak and Kalimantan thrown in) that's best to be avoided nowadays. Some other Dayak groups also do lost wax brass/bronze casting.

In this case, I'm leaning towards Malay(-influenced) groups from the greater Brunei area. There was heavy production of sword hilts for dukn (also known as Iban pedang or Dusan gayang) as well as other brass/bronze products (gongs, etc.).

Regards,
Kai

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Ian

Nice find Sajen. That brass hilt does appear to have some age. Are the Dayak groups prominent workers in brass/bronze? I know that the Murat from further north use brass on their hilts, but not seen much on Dayak swords before. That hilt is a very sophisticated casting and impressive work. It seems to be made in several pieces that were brazed together. Nice brass inlays on the blade too. A piece of distinction for a distinguished person?

Hello Ian,

Thank you for your comments! Like Kai explained there was some brass casting on Borneo. I for my part have never before seen a brass hilted mandau.
The other questions I will let to others, I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to Dayak/Borneo blades!

Regards,
Detlef

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by kai

Some of the hilt motifs seem to hint at coastal Malay influence - I'd first check among the ethnic groups of Brunei.

Hello Kai,
Thank you! And a good hint that it could originate from coastal Malay/Brunei of Borneo.

Originally Posted by kai

The blade seems of good quality - might be traded from the mountains. How thick is it?

Yes, it's certainly a good blade, it's 8 mm thick behind the handle at the spine.

Regards,
Detlef

[JeffS]

Very interesting looking and a lucky find! What is the clear tip off that the scabbard is later?

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by JeffS

Very interesting looking and a lucky find! What is the clear tip off that the scabbard is later?

Hello Jeff,

Thank you!
There is not the clear tip but some hints, also when I am not an expert by Borneo weapons I have handled some very nice and old swords and seeing a lot more online.
The scabbard in question is minimum old, see by the attached pictures the cracks in the rotan, a clear sign of good age.
By the following pictures you see first the rotan binding from the scabbard in question and next a binding by a very old scabbard. Antique bindings are very refined, compare.
Another sign is the overall patination, color and the feeling in hand.
Try to look to old collections, there you can handle the objects, visit museums, look online but don't believe all what there is told.
Look to the pages of art dealers, it's a long learning process.

Best regards,
Detlef

[JeffS]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Hello Jeff,

Thank you!
There is not the clear tip but some hints, also when I am not an expert by Borneo weapons I have handled some very nice and old swords and seeing a lot more online.
The scabbard in question is minimum old, see by the attached pictures the cracks in the rotan, a clear sign of good age.
By the following pictures you see first the rotan binding from the scabbard in question and next a binding by a very old scabbard. Antique bindings are very refined, compare.
Another sign is the overall patination, color and the feeling in hand.
Try to look to old collections, there you can handle the objects, visit museums, look online but don't believe all what there is told.
Look to the pages of art dealers, it's a long learning process.

Best regards,
Detlef

Very helpful, thank you. My eye is getting better, particularly with types I am more familiar with, but I have a long way to go.

[kino]

I’ve seen plenty of Mandau’s in the Forum pages and on-line but never with a brass hilt. A first look for me. Very nice, thanks for sharing.

I have seen and handled a Balato with a brass hilt, well just 1, maybe brass casted hilts is more common with Nias than Borneo.

[kai]

Hello Albert,

full-size Nias swords with brass hilts are rare; brass hilts with daggers/knives are really common though.

Both Sumatra and Borneo have their share of brass hilts, too - remember the Iban dukn I referred to. Mandau with brass hilts are certainly very rare: Note that the design and decor are not typical - I'm pretty sure it's Malay(-influenced).

Regards,
Kai

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by kino

I’ve seen plenty of Mandau’s in the Forum pages and on-line but never with a brass hilt. A first look for me. Very nice, thanks for sharing.

I have seen and handled a Balato with a brass hilt, well just 1, maybe brass casted hilts is more common with Nias than Borneo.

Thank you Albert! It's the same to me, it's the first mandau I've seen with brass handle. I've read about but never seen one pictured.
Like Kai wrote, there are knives and daggers with brass handles by the Nias tribes but only a few swords with them.

Regards,
Detlef

[kino]

Originally Posted by kai

Hello Albert,

full-size Nias swords with brass hilts are rare; brass hilts with daggers/knives are really common though.

Both Sumatra and Borneo have their share of brass hilts, too - remember the Iban dukn I referred to. Mandau with brass hilts are certainly very rare: Note that the design and decor are not typical - I'm pretty sure it's Malay(-influenced).

Regards,
Kai

Of course you’re correct Kai. I totally blocked the other swords coming out of Borneo with brass hilts. Funny, I even have one.

All I had in my mind at the time were Mandau’s.

[NgajuPride]

What an interesting mandau, good find Sajen. I've never seen a mandau with brass hilt before.

And i agree with Kai. This mandau seems has a lot of malay's influence. I'm pretty sure this mandau was owned by an high degree malayan coastal people as a gift or collection.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by NgajuPride

What an interesting mandau, good find Sajen. I've never seen a mandau with brass hilt before.

And i agree with Kai. This mandau seems has a lot of malay's influence. I'm pretty sure this mandau was owned by an high degree malayan coastal people as a gift or collection.

Hello NgajuPride,

Thank you for comment! I've never seen a mandau with a brass handle either, I'd read about it but never seen one. And yes, I also suspect a strong Malay influence.

Regards,
Detlef