Two old Timorese swords

[Ian]

These two swords came from a second auction at the same place I bought the Paiwan club that I posted yesterday. The auction house believes that they date from c. 1700 CE.

The auction pictures are all I have at present, and they were not of good quality. I managed to extract some better images from the online pictures using Photoshop. Both swords are black. Old oxidation accounts for the blackening of the blades, but the hilt and scabbards were likely exposed to a smoky environment dating back many decades. I can't tell if the swords are consistent with a 1700 date from the online pictures, and there are some obvious condition issues with both of them. However, they were a relatively inexpensive purchase so I decided to take a chance on them.

The first seems to be the better preserved and has a relatively intact scabbard




The second has more detailed carving and may have been better made, but the scabbard has suffered the stress of time and the blade is more corroded. Also, the hilt of the second may have some metal wrapping, while the first example may have a horn or wooden hilt.