Hello Godfried,
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I know Albert . I spoke to him on Sunday at the "Tribal Art Fair" in Amsterdam.
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Sure thing - from the quality you're collecting at, I assume you've been in direct contact with some of the long-time Borneo collectors!
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The Mandau's are known to me. Nr-1 is a Mandau of the Long Glat (upper Mahakam) late 19th,c..
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I agree - very typical example with excellently preserved blade! I'd assume that this piece entered NL pretty early.
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And Nr-2 is a Mandau of the Kayan also late 19th,c.
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This blade exhibits considerably more wear and might have been collected later; I'd also guess the scabbard is a later replacement during the 20th c. as it often happens with blades in active service.
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I think the motif of photo-1 is the tumpal motif, but I'm curious if the circle represents the sun (surya) or a dashed head.
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Yes, this is a very legit consideration - SE Asia is full of tumpal motifs. Of course, this motif itself is a reference to a multitude of associated interpretations (Mt. Meru, tree of life, etc.).
Regarding the circle: Interpretations throughout the archipelago are rarely if ever limited to a single meaning. Don't ask binary "or" questions - just use "and"...
BTW, there also seems to be a chance that it has a spiral connotation if you look at the lower/distal part.
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Photo-2 is either just decoration or a stylized image of something. But of what.
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Certainly not "just" decor - pretty much anything has a connotation...
Some motifs (aso, leeches) tend to be quite obvious while others can be much more challenging to discern. Especially the floral elements can sometimes hide larger motifs - these are often only visible with extensive experience, i.e. training of the eye.
When looking into these details, I'd strongly suggest to look a lot into all kind of "Dayak" carvings, inked decor on tolor, tattoos, etc. Some motifs seem to be very widespread while others may be much more restricted in space and/or time. Considering the wide geographic scope, vast ethnic diversity, and extensive cultural evolution over time, such an extremely valuable project would be a really huge task! What have you been able to glean from the long-time collectors so far?
Regards,
Kai