Amanremu

[Royston]

Not had one of these before. See A van Z page 23.

Amanremu with hulu baba buya.

Length is 72 cm with a 57 cm blade.

Hilt is carved horn. Ferrule is silver with traces of removed decoration in gold / suassa.

Look at the thickness of the blade near the hilt. Just about 13cm or 1/2 inch.
It is a very heavy blade.

Any comment welcome
Regards
Roy

[Kubur]

Hi

To me the Y, horns were covered with silver sheet, it's too simple and too plain for me...
But it's not my field...

Kubur

[Sajen]

Hello Roy,

very nice Amanremu you got there! So it's a Alas, Gayo or Karo sword. What a shame that the suassa (I think) pieces missing. Like Kubur write, it could be possible that the both horns of the hilt has been once covered with silver/suassa. Not necessary but by a piece with suassa very good possible.

Regards,
Detlef

[Rick]

It's nice to see one of these handles that is not cracked.

[kai]

Hello Kubur,

To me the Y, horns were covered with silver sheet, it's too simple and too plain for me...

Yes, most certainly silver sheet with suasa trim.

(Quite susceptible to wear & tear; not all examples seem to originally had this decoration though.)

Regards,
Kai

[kai]

Hello Rick,

It's nice to see one of these handles that is not cracked.

Probably hidden on the underside...

Actually, I tend to be very suspicious if there is no crack; this seems to be a genuine antique though!

Regards,
Kai

[kai]

Hello Detlef,

So it's a Alas, Gayo or Karo sword.

Karo and Pakpak examples seem to be on the shorter side.

The large ones like this are probably Gayo (while well-provenanced examples from Alas remain elusive).

Regards,
Kai

[kai]

Hello Roy,

Nice acquisition! These long and heavy examples most likely originate from the central/southern Gayo regions; currently I can't exclude an Alas origin while (western) Karo hilts usually show slight differences.

Ferrule is silver with traces of removed decoration in gold / suassa.

Possibly repairs rather than missing decor? Those 3 ferrule bands are unusual - maybe evidence of later repairs, too.

Regards,
Kai

[Royston]

Thanks for the comments.

I still think that something has been removed from the ferrule.

It is possible that this has been repaired at some time, looking at photos of others on the interwebb does show my hilt to be somewhat unusual.

Quite possible that there was silver on the horns. Not possible to tell now.

I have been collecting S.E Asian since the late 70's and this is first time I have owned one of these. I have quite a few other Sumatran swords so although not rare, they are not common in the UK.
This one is comparatively rare in my opinion.

Regards
Roy

[Miguel]

Hi Royston. A very nice item, I've not seen one before. Are the horns purely decorative or do they have a deeper meaning?
Thanks for sharing.
Miguel

[kai]

Hello Miguel,

Are the horns purely decorative or do they have a deeper meaning?

The literal translation of the Aceh name (hulu) babah buya is [in reversed order of words] crocodile mouth (hilt).

Regards,
Kai

[kai]

Hello Roy,

I still think that something has been removed from the ferrule.

Could you post some close-ups?

Quite possible that there was silver on the horns. Not possible to tell now.

I believe, the ridges at the base of the "jaws" are an indication of a former metal cover.

I have quite a few other Sumatran swords so although not rare, they are not common in the UK.
This one is comparatively rare in my opinion.

It certainly is one of the rarer swords. While the UK did not had much colonial stakes in the area, there were avid collectors. Thus, I've seen offerings from the UK as well as elsewhere (globally). Obviously, it always depends on where you shop and how much you're willing to pay.

Regards,
Kai

[Royston]

My other Sumatran swords.
Cheers
Roy

PS I will try close ups tomorrow

[Sajen]

Great collection of North Sumatra swords!

[Royston]

Kai, here you are. Not the best photos in the world but I think you will see whay I say there has been some "removal". I am sure there are traces of suassa remaining.
Regards
Roy

[colin henshaw]

A fine collection Roy, congratulations !

[Miguel]

Originally Posted by kai

Hello Miguel,


The literal translation of the Aceh name (hulu) babah buya is [in reversed order of words] crocodile mouth (hilt).

Regards,
Kai

Thanks Kai, much appreciated

Miguel

[kai]

Hello Roy,

Thanks for the close-ups!

I say there has been some "removal". I am sure there are traces of suassa remaining.

Yes, it looks like a band of suasa that mostly got rubbed off, indeed.

There also has been some patching of the silver underneath and I was wondering whether also the suasa was patching: Looks more like an additional band though - possibly a quite early upgrade.

Regards,
Kai