old style barung! Borneo?
Here my latest addition to my collection which I am very fond of.
I was looking for such old style barung for a long time. And suddenly two of them popped up, but I only got this one unfortunately!
Features:
The scabbard is very broad, but in very good condition.
The cacatua pommel is also made of a very nice wood. Unfortunately a part of the beak and the crest had been broken off a long time ago, cause the breaks have a lot of patina on it.
The sleeve is made of horn, something I have never seen on a barung (I think there are a few in the Leiden museum with a horn sleeve, but it is hard to see on the database images). The horn has a big crack, but happily still there.
The blade was very dirty. I decided just to clean it a little of the worst dirt and rust, and than give it a slight etch with vinegar.
During etching a hardened edge popped up and also some lamination on the blade.
Any input/suggestions of which region it could derive?
Maurice
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