Dayak sword with inlaid blade for id and discussion please
 

I have recently picked this sword up at a local antique centre ,all I know about the sword is that its Dayak and could see it has a good quality blade , sadly there is no scabbard ,but otherwise it in good condition , the blade has some nice brass inlays and detailed decoration , is it normal for one side to be nicely decorated and the other side not ,
thanks

Thank you for posting.
Nice blade indeed. The handle is simple, but not bad at all.

Here is another threads showing a very similar blade attributed to the Baram area, Sarawak.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14272

The blade is a mandau blade with a concave/convex shape. if they are decorated they are always less decorated on the concave side. often the concave side is decorated near the handle, as yours is.

Nice piece, congrats !

Best regards,
Willem

hi there, thanks for your attached thread and information , do you think the handle would have been a more complex carved one to suit the blade ,I expect sometimes handles do get refitted ,though the handle is nice and tight and they look like they have been together for a long time , Its a shame there is no scabbard but still displays well on its own , I'm very pleased with it because most ive come across have had quite crude blades,
thanks again
chief

Maybe the hilt has been replaced at some time, we will never know :)
Important to me is that the hilt looks like the correct style.
It is not as eleborate as some other hilts, but it looks like an old handle that has been on this blade for quite some time.
Not all carvers where great carvers, I guess.
And I think that sometimes the quality and size of the antlers stag must have affected the carving that came out of it as well.

Would love to see some daylight pictures of the handle.

Best regards,
Willem