Is This A Gobang Sword From Preanger, Java?
 

I recently purchased this sword from ebay which was sold by the seller under the name 'OLD WESTERN JAVA KNIFE LAMENGAN, EARLY XX CENTURY, HORN HANDLE'. This came after I lost in my bid for a Murut pakayun in an online auction here in NZ. I remembered seeing this sword type in forumite Maurice's article on a Preanger sword termed as gobang and I always wanted one so I bought it to add to my Indonesian weapons collection. Accompanying images are from the seller as I am still awaiting the arrival of the sword. Is my identification correct? All comments would be greatly appreciated.

Yup, it is one! :) Relative simple but complete and in good condition, yesterday I've seen it by the sold listings from the seller, sadly for me I haven't noticed it when it was listed, good for you! ;) Describe it as Sundanese and not Javanese. Good catch!

Regards,
Detlef

Thanks for the confirmation Detlef. It's not as flashy as the silver-hilted ones but it is a honest and a complete example of a gobang. Is this a rare sword type and what do you think is its age, early 20th century as the seller stated?

Hello Algelan,

Indeed, the short answer would be yes, this example is a sword of the type which Maurice referred to as Gobang in his paper! The style seems to have been typical for Sumedang and, I reckon, Bandung; these swords are documented for the whole Preanger highlands but not necessarily confined to any specific origin. Also, the name does pop up with quite different Sunda blades elsewhere, too. There seems to be quite a bit of variability in usage of names/definitions throughout the region and it seems preferable not to assume any narrow definition/origin... ;)

The good ol' examples are quite rare and the early type(s) seems to have dropped out of fashion by the mid-19th century. I believe your piece predates the 20th century, too. It would be good to etch the blade to possibly narrow things down a bit more!

Originally, the whole scabbard was covered by rattan bindings; those bindings at the tip are a later repair and might hide some losses to the (horn?) tip. There's a bit of wood missing below the horn throat, too. It would look really nice if you were to restore the missing rattan binding, preferably adding a bit of contrast with light vs. stained rattan (which needs to be finely splitted). Anyway, a good piece of history!

Regards,
Kai

Hello Algelan,

first, would agree with everything Kai has written. Age guess would be, also like Kai has pointed out, minimum mid 19th century, maybe older. And yes, they are somewhat rare but they pop up from time to time.

Regards,
Detlef

Hello Detlef,

I'd like to see close-ups of the blade first, preferably polished and/or etched. This might help to narrow things down.

Regards,
Kai