What's going on here (Batak)?

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by kai

While the "snake" (rather from the mythological naga spectrum) and "lizard" (possibly Boraspati ni Tano?) motifs are certainly traditional, they obviously were quite en vogue with the colonial officials and tourists. From the craftsmanship, this hilt does not appear to be from the "good ol' days", I'm afraid. Also the janus-like double faces or back-to-back figures were a common motif of hilt carvers during the first decades of the 20th century.

Hello Kai,

I agree that the hilt looks like a later replacement and doesn't show the best carving. But the nice silver ferrule seems to be made for this hilt. And then the brittle resin which was removed from Jeff.
It takes time for the resin or cutler's resin to get brittle.
The blade got a new handle a long time ago but to be certain that it was done for selling purpose is a little bit gamy IMVHO.

Regards,
Detlef