Hello David,
Pfew, at last one of the Borneo freaks steps in
Following the recent threads on mandau hilts and the extensive knowledge of Arjan, I must say that I become very reluctant to put a name to tribes.
I am not much of a reader, and presently I am at a stage where I feel the more I know, the less I know
But this board gives me one first impression , and that is that it is not very traditional/old. It really looks like tourist style to me.
Also the kind of wood is strange.
Is it really black ? or is it made black with pigment ?
is it heavy wood ? because heavy wood would not be handy for a back pack.
Ps. here is my example.
Bought it from the person who collected it approx 15 years ago.
So definately not old, but well made, more according to the traditional motifs.
But still you can see the carving is by far not as fine as when they made these in the past (say before WW2).