What is this!

asomotif · 19th April 2007, 09:15 AM

I agree with Rich that no japanese swordmaker would ever produce this quality hilt.

The blade is from Borneo, that is no doubt.
So somebody got of a chinese(?) copy naval hilt and a mandau blade and made this weird combination.
A chance might be that the copy naval hilt was made in Borneo but it surely is a copy.

Lets not forget that dayak and especially Iban are flexible people. One of them might have wanted to stick out of the crowd and made this amazing combination to wear on a gawai.

But to be sure you should really know the provenance.
Where was it collected ?

Best regards,
Willem

19th April 2007, 09:15 AM	#8
asomotif Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,235	Japanese naval hilt ? I agree with Rich that no japanese swordmaker would ever produce this quality hilt. The blade is from Borneo, that is no doubt. So somebody got of a chinese(?) copy naval hilt and a mandau blade and made this weird combination. A chance might be that the copy naval hilt was made in Borneo but it surely is a copy. Lets not forget that dayak and especially Iban are flexible people. One of them might have wanted to stick out of the crowd and made this amazing combination to wear on a gawai. But to be sure you should really know the provenance. Where was it collected ? Best regards, Willem