A Sumatran... something?

[kai]

Hello Séverin,

I'm digging up this post because I noticed that I have a very similar dagger, which has a complete and unmodified original handle and its scabbard.

Yes, this is a good example of its type. (Only the decorated silver bands might be later additions to fix the original scabbard.)

The style of the scabbard and the handle as well as the wood used are 100% Sumatran and somewhat resemble Sekin.

Yes, both groups of blades seem to originate from the Padang highlands (and possibly neighbouring areas). There tend to be differences in the scabbard and hilt details though.

I imagine that the origin cannot be very far away.

Yes, this is still my current working hypothesis. There are several blade types which sometimes exhibit cross-over hilts or scabbards. This observed overlap doesn't seem to be from later mix'n'match attempts and suggests that these blades originate from either the same or very closely related cultures. Incidentally, the Minang Kabau culture is highly heterogeneous and there is pronounced local differentiation. This needs to be studied in much more detail and I'm still hoping to find more museum pieces with documented provenance.

Regards,
Kai