Indonesian pedang for identification

[kai]

Hello Detlef,

The hilt was the reason that I was unsure about the Sulawesi origin since I never before have seen such a hilt by a Sulawesi sword.

Remind me to post a pic of a sword with similar hilt - probably need to take pics first...

Regards,
Kai

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by kai

Remind me to post a pic of a sword with similar hilt - probably need to take pics first...

Hereby done!

[kai]

Hello Detlef,

Thanks for the reminder!

Here's a pic (courtesy of mandaukudi).

BTW, the belt with toggle seems to be Dayak - old but possibly added later (may well indicate an ensemble that traveled to another culture and experienced continued use).

Regards,
Kai

[Sajen]

Thank you Kai! Indeed very similar blade shape and handle style.

Regards,
Detlef

[Peter Dekker]

Hi guys,

The piece seems to be from Sumbawa, east of Lombok. Indonesian collectors call them Pedang Sumbawa.

The area was outside of colonial control until the 20th century and was home to many traders of various areas from Indonesia, which explains the eclectic mix of styles seen on some of them.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Peter Dekker

The piece seems to be from Sumbawa, east of Lombok. Indonesian collectors call them Pedang Sumbawa.

Hello Peter,
Do you refer to the pedang which start the thread?

Regards,
Detlef

[kai]

Hello Peter,

Thanks for chiming in!

The piece seems to be from Sumbawa, east of Lombok. Indonesian collectors call them Pedang Sumbawa.

Who are the collectors you're speaking of?

Sumbawa received a very heavy dose of cultural input from Gowa.

As already mentioned, blades from Sulawesi (especially its Southeast) were heavily traded throughout the eastern islands; it would not surprise me to also find some on Sumbawa, too.

The area was outside of colonial control until the 20th century and was home to many traders of various areas from Indonesia, which explains the eclectic mix of styles seen on some of them.

Actually there is hardly any stylistic feature which allows a positive identification of any blade originating from Sumbawa. I'd really like to hear what features this attribution was based on!

Most swords attributed to Sumbawa in AvZ are actually based on traditional styles already established by Gowa (or other ethnic groups from South[west] Sulawesi).

Regards,
Kai