[Ian]

Hello again Albert:

Good to see you back again with such an interesting sword. What speaks to me loudest about your sword and scabbard is the silver work. This looks very much mainland SE Asia to me. The heavy silver mounts on the hilt and throat/chape of the scabbard look like Shan work, with the use of twisted wire and curlicues (spirals, etc.). The manner in which the chape ends, with a flat toe slightly raised on the edges is also common to Shan work, as is the use of multiple silver bands spaced along the wooden sheath. That's high quality work on your example. I would not be surprised of the silver work post-dated the blade and hilt.

Whether one calls this a golok or klewang is somewhat moot I think, although the blade is short for a klewang it is the right shape. The hilt has some similarity to hulu iku ite in your book, and might suggest a Sumatran origin. The prominent and sharp down-turn of the hilt might suggest a Sulawesi origin too. My best guess is a Sumatran klewang with later "foreign" silver work added for prestige. However, you literally wrote the book on these swords and I definitely defer to your judgement.

Attached are pictures of a silver-wrapped dha and scabbard showing typical Shan silver work. Note the prominent use of silver wire and the ornamental motifs.

Thanks for showing this sword and I look forward to hearing the thoughts of others.

Ian


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