Mandau

[Marc M.]

I recently received some objects from a friend who lived in Indonesia with her parents in the 70-80s. Her father traveled all over Indonesia for his work and regularly brought something home. Like these mandau's, quite small 65 and 63 cm. Both blades have a convex and a concave side. One blade is laminated steel with several fractures, faults, one over almost the entire length of the blade. Cutting on the handle reasonably good, especially the ivory piece. In both handles traces of where a coin once sat. Facinating objects but beyond my familiar knowledge. Made for those who travel, the real stuff, just let me know what you guys think.
Regards
Marc

[Marc M.]

More pictures.

[werecow]

Those swirls in that ivory hilt are lovely.

[Pertinax]

Congratulations Marc!

Very cool swords!
What is the diameter of the coin slot?

With respect,
Yuri.

[Marc M.]

Congratulations Marc!

Very cool swords!
What is the diameter of the coin slot?

With respect,
Yuri.

Hi Yuri

About 15mm.

Regards
Marc

[Pertinax]

Marc there may have been a coin - Netherlands India 1/10 guilder. I have a Mandau that was also without a coin, I bought it online for a small amount of money.

See the thread:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=29680

With respect,
Yuri.

[Tim Simmons]

The real deal can be problematic . A sword made for dancing, once used to attack a person becomes real. WW2 era swords were used and Iban warriors in the UK Borneo 1963 -1966 dispute swords were used. These look nice but not sure they will impress the old guard.

[Sajen]

Those swirls in that ivory hilt are lovely.

I don't think that the hilt is carved from ivory. ;)

[Sajen]

The real deal can be problematic . A sword made for dancing, once used to attack a person becomes real. WW2 era swords were used and Iban warriors in the UK Borneo 1963 -1966 dispute swords were used. These look nice but not sure they will impress the old guard.

Nearly all swords are made to kill people! :eek:

[Marc M.]

I don't think that the hilt is carved from ivory. ;)

Hi Detlef
It is ivory, the Schreger lines are clearly visible.
regards
Marc

[David]

I don't think that the hilt is carved from ivory. ;)

Looks like elephant ivory to my eye. See the cross-hatched lines? I do think this is a bit unusual, which makes this mandau a bot special. Certainly not made for those that travel.

[Battara]

I agree with David on the cross hatching - elephant ivory

[Pertinax]

Looks like elephant ivory to my eye. See the cross-hatched lines? I do think this is a bit unusual, which makes this mandau a bot special. Certainly not made for those that travel.

Is there any information about the production of ivory mandau handles in Borneo?

[David]

Is there any information about the production of ivory mandau handles in Borneo?

Never seen any. But Dayak weapons are only a minor interest for me so someone more invested in them might have better information. I only have one in my collection and it's hilt is deer horn. That is probably what the majority of hilts are made from and you will, of course, find wooden ones. I have read that on rare occasion human bone has been used, but i have never seen an example yet. I have never heard of ivory being used, but this very clearly looks like ivory to my eyes and it is certainly a traditional carving. So it seems to be a rarity to me.

[A. G. Maisey]

I agree that the ivory shown here is most likely elephant ivory.

However, ivory from some other animals does also display schreger lines. An expert in this field of ivory identification can in most cases differentiate the source of an ivory, however, in the case of mammoth ivory it can be somewhere between difficult & impossible to be absolutely certain with any identification.

Fossil ivory has been used in Indonesian artifacts in the past, & is still being used in Indonesian carvings today. In Bali a tour of shops, galleries & workshops that sell ivory carvings will almost always identify the ivory carvings being offered as "mammoth ivory".

[Pertinax]

A.W. Nieuwenhuis in his book "Quer Durch Borneo" describes the Dayaks making mandau handles from deer horn.

The Bornean elephant, or Kalimantan elephant, or Borneo dwarf elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) is a subspecies of the Asian elephant that lives in the northeast of the island of Kalimantan.

[Marc M.]

I had no idea that ivory is rarely used to make a handle for a mandau. Although the material is available locally, culturally it is apparently not the custom to use it.
Have shown the mandau to a friend who is more familiar with it. He confirmed my suspicion that the scabbards were fairly recent, but the swords seemed older. The quality of the carving is good and the small utility knife has a good patina. He also found that the talismanic figure is of good quality and age.
As in many cultures, the things most exposed to wear and tear are replaced regularly, perhaps with these mandau's the case.
The blade of the mandau with the ivory handle is laminated, not visible in the photo but in the right light and at a certain angle it is slightly visible. I assume the damage to the blade is from use. The flaws present in the steel created during the fabrication process may have been visible but still found good enough to make it a weapon.
Regards
Marc

[Marc M.]

I agree that the ivory shown here is most likely elephant ivory.

However, ivory from some other animals does also display schreger lines. An expert in this field of ivory identification can in most cases differentiate the source of an ivory, however, in the case of mammoth ivory it can be somewhere between difficult & impossible to be absolutely certain with any identification.

Fossil ivory has been used in Indonesian artifacts in the past, & is still being used in Indonesian carvings today. In Bali a tour of shops, galleries & workshops that sell ivory carvings will almost always identify the ivory carvings being offered as "mammoth ivory".

I suppose a lot of ivory being offered bears the heading ‘mammoth ’ because mammoth ivory is legal to trade. I think it is hard to prove that it is mammoth at the request of customs.
Regards
Marc

[Tim Simmons]

Aussie ans Iban ww2.

[Sajen]

Hi Marc,

The handle is indeed from ivory, the first mandau I've seen with such a handle. The handle also shows a very nice carving and also a face. Laminated mandau blades are also very rare and seldom seen. In short, you have a great mandau there, I hope Maurice sees this thread and will comment, he is, at the moment, the person who knows as best about mandaus. Great score, congrats!

Regards,
Detlef