Nias sword
 

Here for viewing is an old Nias sword. This sword was in the Metropolitan Museum in New York for a time. The handle is a stylized lasara figure in cast brass. The amulet ball is covered in crocodile claws The basket is filled with several amulets, sharks teeth, Pieces of cloth, some kind of stones. Scabbard is a full 3 inches wide, twice as wide as most Nias scabbards, and has an iron hanging hook near the top. Blade is 21 inches long and is of the normal Nias style. Ex. collection L. van Bussel Amsterdam..........Dave.

Beautiful
 

It's a beauty! And with an exceptional brass hilt.

Wow
 

Superb example, beautiful.

Hi Dave,

That's an amazing piece - all the way down to the shape of the blade. Can you see what's inside the amulet ball? You're spot on with the Crocodylian origin, but these seem to be the teeth supported by inserted wooden pegs (they're kind of fragile near the base. On the really high status/old Balatos, from a time when tigers were still plentyful in that part of the world, you also sometimes see tiger canines on these balls.

Thanks for sharing!

-Thor


Edit: Ah, re-reading your post, I remember you already described the contents of the ball - cool. :)

VERY NICE :cool: I HAVE NOT SEEN ONE WITH A BRASS HANDLE BEFORE AND THE WORKMANSHIP IS VERY GOOD. WAS BRASS OR BRONZE CASTING DONE ON NIAS ISLAND OR IN THE SURROUNDING REGION?
IN BORNEO BRASS AND BRONZE WERE CAST AS CANNON ( LANTKA), AND JEWLRY ESPECIALLY LARGE HEAVY EAR RINGS. PERHAPS NIAS TRIBES DID SIMULAR THINGS AS THEY MAKE NEAT ARMOR, HELMETS, BLADES AND SPEARS THERE.

Hello Dave,

How had the ball been attached to the scabbard?
Is there a round wooden protrusion on the scabbard with a hole through it, where the ratan ball is placed over?

Maurice: As far as I can tell, there is a round wooden peg that it is attached to. I have several more Nias swords and some of the amulet balls are simply tied on with either twine or rattan, or sometimes even wire, tied directly to the scabbard without a peg protruding.........Dave.