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#1 |
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Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6,852
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What we have here are Javanese betel nut scissors.
They are called "kacip". The blades are steel, the handles are silver, they are no longer made, they are ridiculously expensive, and the value of any of the ones pictured here would buy a pretty decent complete keris. The single one pictured by itself is a figure of Semar, with articulated arms. The largest and the smallest are pictured together to give an idea of size range. |
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#2 |
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany, Dortmund
Posts: 8,727
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Thank you for sharing Alan. I also have a decent kacip collection but have it stored somewhere, when I find it I will post some pictures. Nice that you have stained them, I have seen a few with pamor. You show some from Madura, Java and Bali when I am not wrong. And very nice that all still have the silver sleeves at the handles.
Regards, Detlef |
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#3 |
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Join Date: May 2006
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Kacip made of pamor are new, when these appear to be old, they have been processed to make them appear thus. They started to appear when prices went crazy on these things a few years ago. These pamor kacip are definitely specifically manufactured souvenir items.
We don't really need any inside info , nor special understanding to realise this:- the purpose of kacip is to cut:- steel is hard, pamor is soft. Do we make scissors from hard material or soft material? Genuine kacip are no longer made. Why? Because people have come to realise the physical damage that sirih does and it has simply gone out of favour. Frankly, I cannot distinguish between kacip from various places, but all of these were bought in Jawa, and most were bought privately from ordinary people, not dealers, some came from Pare and Malang in Jatim, some came from Solo. None have been stained, nor have they been cleaned, they are exactly as I bought them. |
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#4 |
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Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Paris (France)
Posts: 408
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One of my 7 Kacip (6 javanese or balinese and 1 burmese) is very similar to one of yours. It was purchased in the fifties in Jakarta by its previous owner.
But on the internet I have often read that inlaid kacip with lion or horse design have a Balinese origin. I have not found on the forum more topic about the kacip. I'm surprised because they http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/attach...49205&stc=1are a very aesthetic objects and sometimes very sophisticated. |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Paris (France)
Posts: 408
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Another Kacip from my collection, (17cm, iron, silver and brass).
I suspect that at the origin there wasn't the crest brass or silver on the head. |
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#6 | |
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany, Dortmund
Posts: 8,727
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#7 |
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany, Dortmund
Posts: 8,727
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And here some from India.
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#8 |
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany, Dortmund
Posts: 8,727
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And here a very rare one from South China.
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#9 |
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Austria
Posts: 1,903
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Very interesting topic!
I had to check with Wikipedia to learn what Betel nuts are (apparently they are called Areca Nuts and Betel nuts is a colloquial misnomer). ![]() Last edited by mariusgmioc; 20th March 2017 at 03:29 PM. |
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