Question about the scabbard of a mandau

[kai]

Hello Godfried,

I know Albert . I spoke to him on Sunday at the "Tribal Art Fair" in Amsterdam.

Sure thing - from the quality you're collecting at, I assume you've been in direct contact with some of the long-time Borneo collectors!

The Mandau's are known to me. Nr-1 is a Mandau of the Long Glat (upper Mahakam) late 19th,c..

I agree - very typical example with excellently preserved blade! I'd assume that this piece entered NL pretty early.

And Nr-2 is a Mandau of the Kayan also late 19th,c.

This blade exhibits considerably more wear and might have been collected later; I'd also guess the scabbard is a later replacement during the 20th c. as it often happens with blades in active service.

I think the motif of photo-1 is the tumpal motif, but I'm curious if the circle represents the sun (surya) or a dashed head.

Yes, this is a very legit consideration - SE Asia is full of tumpal motifs. Of course, this motif itself is a reference to a multitude of associated interpretations (Mt. Meru, tree of life, etc.).

Regarding the circle: Interpretations throughout the archipelago are rarely if ever limited to a single meaning. Don't ask binary "or" questions - just use "and"...

BTW, there also seems to be a chance that it has a spiral connotation if you look at the lower/distal part.

Photo-2 is either just decoration or a stylized image of something. But of what.

Certainly not "just" decor - pretty much anything has a connotation...

Some motifs (aso, leeches) tend to be quite obvious while others can be much more challenging to discern. Especially the floral elements can sometimes hide larger motifs - these are often only visible with extensive experience, i.e. training of the eye.


When looking into these details, I'd strongly suggest to look a lot into all kind of "Dayak" carvings, inked decor on tolor, tattoos, etc. Some motifs seem to be very widespread while others may be much more restricted in space and/or time. Considering the wide geographic scope, vast ethnic diversity, and extensive cultural evolution over time, such an extremely valuable project would be a really huge task! What have you been able to glean from the long-time collectors so far?

Regards,
Kai