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Old 31st July 2017, 07:44 AM   #1
Royston
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Default Amanremu

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
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Old 31st July 2017, 09:15 AM   #2
Kubur
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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
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Old 31st July 2017, 03:01 PM   #3
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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
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Old 31st July 2017, 03:27 PM   #4
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It's nice to see one of these handles that is not cracked.
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Old 31st July 2017, 03:59 PM   #5
kai
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Hello Kubur,

Quote:
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
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Old 31st July 2017, 04:04 PM   #6
kai
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Hello Rick,

Quote:
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
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Old 31st July 2017, 04:07 PM   #7
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Hello Detlef,

Quote:
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
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Old 31st July 2017, 04:25 PM   #8
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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.

Quote:
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
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Old 1st August 2017, 06:05 PM   #9
Royston
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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
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Old 1st August 2017, 07:52 PM   #10
Miguel
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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
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Old 1st August 2017, 08:59 PM   #11
kai
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Hello Miguel,

Quote:
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
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Old 1st August 2017, 09:13 PM   #12
kai
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Hello Roy,

Quote:
I still think that something has been removed from the ferrule.
Could you post some close-ups?


Quote:
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.


Quote:
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
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Old 1st August 2017, 10:11 PM   #13
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My other Sumatran swords.
Cheers
Roy

PS I will try close ups tomorrow
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Old 2nd August 2017, 09:07 PM   #14
Sajen
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Great collection of North Sumatra swords!
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Old 3rd August 2017, 08:13 AM   #15
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Default close ups

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
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Old 3rd August 2017, 08:22 AM   #16
colin henshaw
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A fine collection Roy, congratulations !
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Old 3rd August 2017, 04:00 PM   #17
Miguel
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Quote:
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
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Old 3rd August 2017, 06:28 PM   #18
kai
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Hello Roy,

Thanks for the close-ups!


Quote:
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
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