Silver mounted badek for coments

[Mark]

Originally Posted by fernando

What say you Mark, after the various considerations posted ?
Could this really be a neighbour of the Thai "meed pra dae" ( vide The Dha Research Glossary ), or is it better atributable to its primitive provenance ... Sulawesi, Indonesia ?
Fernando

I think that the two terms are synonymous, being simply the names for this kind of knife in the respective languages.

JT - a good point about possible Islamic influences. Craftsmen were deported from one region to another during the near-constant wars across continental SEA, so now that I think of it, it is quite possible that the style jumped that distance, in one direction or the other. I think that is more likely than simple diffusion, given the distances.

Tim - I appreciate the correction. Am I right to say, then, that the technique of filling the piece with something semi-soft is a basic part of doing repoussee/chasing? One of the things that I have to keep reminding myself is that just because I find something about manufacturing or design that seem characteristic of the particular area of my interest (SEA), it does not mean that there is anything unique about it vis a vis the rest of the world. I need to read more broadly in such areas.