David, over the years I've known more than a few carvers in Jawa and Bali, and what I have noted is that unless a specific known, traditional form of something is deliberately aimed at, the carver will look at the material with a vague outline in his mind, and allow the material to dictate the finished form as he works.
This is a contemporary hilt, I have no doubt that the carver just wanted to produce the most saleable form he could from the material he had available.
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