This Bali handle has had perplexed me from the moment I saw it.
The head is not a form that I have previously encountered, and it seems not to be a human head form at all, certainly not a form that I can even remotely associate with any of the more usual representations on Balinese keris handles.
Stylistically it most certainly has some age to it, and it displays a strength and vitality that is often lacking in later 20th century carvings, no matter how technically superb these later carvings may be.
The two black stones that Hoorn tells us he placed in the holes in the handle have caused me considerable confusion, so in the picture that is attached, I have removed them. We can now see clearly the outline of the space that surrounds the holes where Hoorn placed the black stones, we can also see the orientation of the eyes, and features of the head above the eyes.
In the left hand of this figure a feather is grasped.
I have spent considerable time researching attributes of both original Hindu deities and their Balinese versions to try to find a deity with the attribute of a feather. One by one I have eliminated all of the usual suspects.
So, what we have is a figure of human form with a feather grasped in the left hand, but with a head that cannot in any way be regarded as human, and an opening in the front of the head, where a mouth would normally be, that comes to a peak at the top, and has a rounded form flowing from the declines from the peak.
The form of this "mouth" opening is precisely the form of the cross-section of an eagle's beak at its base.
Garuda in Jawa-Bali art is very often represented in anthropomorphous form, that is, with a human body and an eagle's head. One of the earliest representations of Garuda in this form is to be found in the 8th century Dieng temple complex, on Candi Banon.
Now imagine this hilt figure with a beak projecting from the place where Hoorn has inserted a couple of black stones. The holes were to support the glued attachment of the beak; the beak was glued in place because the material was insufficient to allow it to be carved from the solid--- this type of attachment is not at all unusual in Balinese carvings.
Then we have the feather.
Based upon what I can see in these photographs , it is my opinion that this hilt figure could be a representation of Garuda, that has lost its beak.
As always there is the qualification that my opinion could change if I were to handle this hilt figure.
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