Presumed Wedung with Figural Hilt
 

A friend recently acquired this at a local auction. The blade appears very much to be a simple working version of a wedung that has seen use. I seem to recollect discussion of the same entity as depicted by the carved hilt, but cannot recall the details. I am interested in your thoughts about origin and age.

Hello Lee,

That's not a wedung, I would call it tiuk pengentas, see here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=wedung+bali
But it's very recent work and the handle isn't original and also too small for such a blade.
Sorry for the bad news! :o

Regards,
Detlef

Hi Lee. I have to agree with Detlef. It is a somewhat similar form, but it would never pass as a wedhung, which is a very specific court blade that is really only carried within the keraton.
I'm not sure it is a tiuk pengentas either but who knows. Maybe someone else has an idea.

As for the figure figure in the hilt, often figures that are crouching like this are related to ancestors. The bird face behind the head appears to be a Garuda Mungkur, a protective figure. Tiuk Pengentas will also often have a Garuda head along the top edge of the blade. I have attached an example of a Tiuk Pengentas for comparison. Tiuk Pengentas are used in funerary ceremonies in Bali so a hilt relating to the ancestors could make logical sense i suppose. They are sometimes called Balinese Wedhung, but again it the distinction should be made that Tiuk Pengentas are not Wedhung and serve a completely different function as the Wedhung, which only exists in Jawa.

Thank you all for your instructive and educational insights. The blade does seem so entirely utilitarian, so perhaps this carved dress was added to a tool blade for sale to the traveler? I should add that in the same lot there was what appeared to be a large Balinese keris with a carved wooden hilt in very much the same style, wood and finish, but different from all of those in my personal experience. That keris had a simple, high contrast pamor blade that did not scream of antiquity to me.

Yes, this blade is very utilitarian, but i am not convinced it is necessarily dressed for sale to tourists. I don't know why it did not immediately come to mind, but this blade is a very similar profile and the dress form is not all that different from an old Balinese Golok that i have, that was owned by a Brahamin and intented for preparation of ceremonial offerings. Note the similar blade profile and figural hilt with the same orientation. My example is, of course, much older, and it is huge (Blade 11.75 inches, width 3.25 inches, overall length 20 inches and weighing in an 2lbs.), but i would image such blades were produced in different sizes for the preparation of different types of offerings.

Closest match yet!
 

Closest match yet! The blade in the original post above is just under 8 inches in length.