Comments requested

[JeffS]

Hello

I would love to receive any information or suggestions concerning this Sewar. I originally thought it was a Keris, but learned on Bladeforums of my mistake. I recently received this from my mother's husband who's father collected it in Sumatra between 1915 - 1918.



-- Jeff
BTW - This is a great forum. I'm looking forwad to learning about collecting Ethnographic weapons.

[kai]

Originally Posted by Dizos

I would love to receive any information or suggestions concerning this Sewar.

Welcome Jeff,

This seems to be a really nice piece with well-tempered edge (that dark zone extending from the tip along the edge).

Please post close-ups if possible - this would help assessing the materials utilized.

I'm looking forwad to learning about collecting Ethnographic weapons.

Well, you'd probably be better off if you were to sell this right away - this stuff can be pretty addictive...

Regards,
Kai

[Battara]

Kai has a good point about the addiction problem.....uh.....anyway, it looks like the bands on the scabbard and the hilt are silver with the pommel of the sewar and the bottom of the scabbard possibly being of bone, though better closeups would be more helpful and help determine materials better (especially if bone or ivory). The black part of the hilt of course is horn.

[Alam Shah]

A very nice sewar indeed.
Welcome to the forum.
You can search this forum for more info, under "sewar", "sewah", "siwah".

[JeffS]

This seems to be a really nice piece with well-tempered edge (that dark zone extending from the tip along the edge).

What you are seeing there is a shadow from the scanner instead of a temper line. The blade flats are contoured - almost grooved, sort of fuller like. Sorry, not sure what the correct terminology is. Hopefully the larger pics will help you see what I mean. I also included a closeup to show the grain texture in the steel.

The black part of the hilt of course is horn.

Actually it is some type of dark hardwood. I don't recognize the type though.

Thanks again for helping me learn about this. This is very exciting. I'm brand new to the world of ethnographic weapons, though I do have a Kinjal I purchased in Turkey that I will post another time. I'm curious if it is the real deal or not.

[Ferguson]

I think the dark part of the hilt is indeed carabao horn. I zoomed in on your excellent photo of the hilt and the grain looks like old horn. See how at a couple of places you see lighter streaks that are almost very fine cracks? Also, it looks like a small "bug bite" where an insect has been eating the handle, common with horn. Of course, you have it in your hand and can see better than a picture, so it may be wood.

Very nice sewar!

Steve Ferguson

[Battara]

I agree with Ferguson regarding the look of the hilt - looks like horn to me. Also now that I can see better in the pictures, the pommel looks more like bone.

[JeffS]

Originally Posted by Ferguson

I think the dark part of the hilt is indeed carabao horn. I zoomed in on your excellent photo of the hilt and the grain looks like old horn. See how at a couple of places you see lighter streaks that are almost very fine cracks? Also, it looks like a small "bug bite" where an insect has been eating the handle, common with horn. Of course, you have it in your hand and can see better than a picture, so it may be wood.

Very nice sewar!

Steve Ferguson

Thanks Steve (and everyone else who pointed this out)

My imagination was seeing wood grain in the handle, but now I see that you are all correct. The grain lines all run parallel and looks fibrous like horn. I was wondering what that hole was.

I also re-read the post by kai and looked closer at the temper line he was noting. I'm used to very distinct temper lines in modern forged blades so am wondering if I also jumped to conclusions concerning the "fuller" shadow causing the temper line. It is not distinct but the steel along the edge does seem to be bit darker.

What do you suppose caused the grainy pattern in the steel. Did they use some kind of wootz?

[mmontoro]

The ferrule looks a little Batak and the blade rencong-ish. Unusual and nice example to me.

[kai]

Originally Posted by Dizos

What do you suppose caused the grainy pattern in the steel. Did they use some kind of wootz?

Not wootz/bulat but the blade seems to be pattern welded.

Regards,
Kai

[JeffS]

Adding photo since original photos (15 years ago!) are no longer hosted.
Any thoughts which Sumatran ethnic group this may have come from?

[kai]

Hello Jeff,

Thanks for rescuing this thread by making a pic available again!

Could you possibly add some more close-ups, please?

How good is the fit of the blade in the scabbard?

Regards,
Kai

[JeffS]

Unfortunately I don't have it with me, but here are the pictures I took in 2005. As I recall the fit in the scabbard is good though the "cross piece" portion of the scabbard is lose and slides off easily (this can be seen in the photos). This was collected along with a Batak pustaha which sadly was not also given to me! However I do not have evidence that they were collected from the same community.

[kai]

Hello Jeff,

Thanks for the additional pics! This is a tough nut to crack and will possibly need detailed personal examination for reliable results.

From the pics, my estimate would be:
1. Genuine antique rencong blade from Aceh (these are known to have diffundated into more southern areas)
2. The hilt with silver ferrule vibes well with Karo Batak usage; might well be antique or possibly pre-WW2. How is the bone(?) end piece attached?
3. The carved motifs on the scabbard appear to be a somewhat later style that developed during the 20th century; it seems to often come out of workshops in Medan rather than traditional Batak regions. The type of crosspiece is not typical for any Batak group (also of Aceh origin originally). From the craftsmanship and materials, I'd be inclined to believe the scabbard is a post-WW2 replacement.

Regards,
Kai

[JeffS]

Originally Posted by kai

Hello Jeff,

Thanks for the additional pics! This is a tough nut to crack and will possibly need detailed personal examination for reliable results.

From the pics, my estimate would be:
1. Genuine antique rencong blade from Aceh (these are known to have diffundated into more southern areas)
2. The hilt with silver ferrule vibes well with Karo Batak usage; might well be antique or possibly pre-WW2. How is the bone(?) end piece attached?
3. The carved motifs on the scabbard appear to be a somewhat later style that developed during the 20th century; it seems to often come out of workshops in Medan rather than traditional Batak regions. The type of crosspiece is not typical for any Batak group (also of Aceh origin originally). From the craftsmanship and materials, I'd be inclined to believe the scabbard is a post-WW2 replacement.

Regards,
Kai

Thank you for the insight, particularly clarifying the blade is rencong. I don't recall how the bone is attached. Wish I could get my hands on it, but currently in storage on the other side of the US. We have solid provenance from between 1915 - 1918 for the entire piece as that is when it was collected (by my mother's late husband's father who was there for work). It had sat in a shoe box since then so the wear visible on it would have been for a period of use before that. Do (or did) the Karo have datu using pustaha like the Toba? It was a fascinating thing to look at (I've attached a couple of pictures of the pages, wish I had taken more of them!) and interesting to wonder if there might be a link between the pustaha and the recong. Sadly the story is lost to time.