20th January 2013, 05:34 AM | #1 |
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Cirebon buta bajang damaged ...
I am curious to get your opinion on a hilt I have which is badly damaged .
This looks like a voluntary " mutilation " made by a previous owner but is there any reason to do so ? May be a relation to religious meanings ? But who can wear a so ugly hilt ? |
20th January 2013, 07:22 AM | #2 |
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Probably natural cracking Henri.
Often happens when a pesi rusts and expands, but can also be caused by the wood cracking over time. If it was carved from improperly seasoned wood those cracks could have been there for a very long time. |
20th January 2013, 08:19 AM | #3 |
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Thank you Alan for the reply . I was more talking about the fact the face and some parts of the buta bajang were removed probably with a sharp tool ...
This handle is probably old with natural cracking due to the age . |
20th January 2013, 12:33 PM | #4 |
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Oh yes.
No explaining insanity Henri. I haven't seen something like this previously, and cannot offer any explanation. |
20th January 2013, 12:44 PM | #5 |
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Hello Henri,
I think that there are two possibilities for this. For the first one read this thread: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10454. But I doubt that this is by your hilt the case. When I look to your pictures I think to see the traces of mouse or rat bites. This I have seen many times by indonesian wooden items. Indonesians eat with their hands/fingers and when they have touched after meal for example this keris hilt the taste and smell is still present at the handle and a hungry mouse/rat will try to eat it. I think this is the case by your keris hilt. Have a look here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ighlight=mouse Regards, Detlef Last edited by Sajen; 20th January 2013 at 01:00 PM. Reason: Providing links |
20th January 2013, 02:50 PM | #6 |
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I would vote for your explanation, Detlef .
Certainly does look like rodent gnaw . |
20th January 2013, 07:55 PM | #7 |
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Thank you Detlef . Looks like you are right ! Most of the "bites" are uncontrolled . Probably some parts of this hilt were more or less spicy
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20th January 2013, 09:04 PM | #8 |
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I like the rat theory.
I must admit I've never seen this, but its logical, and it certainly could happen. |
20th January 2013, 09:07 PM | #9 | |
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Henri, you would be surprised how spicy not only indonesian people can eat but also animals. When you buy food in Indonesia at a warung (snack bar) you get it packed in paper with sambal (chili sauce) packed in plastic. You open all and eat it with your fingers. The sambal I am used to put at the paper. I have bought one time chicken with rice and sambal and have over the bones, some rice and some sambal. This I have given to a hungry dog. The dog eat not only the bones and the rice but also the very spicy sambal!! Regards, Detlef |
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20th January 2013, 09:15 PM | #10 | |
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Hello Alan, I have a shield from Halmahera which is heavily bitten from a rat at the handle area. Unfortunately I have given it to my friend for restauration so I can't take pictures. But will ask him for some pictures to show this. Regards, Detlef |
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20th January 2013, 09:42 PM | #11 |
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Mice will eat the fanbelt in your car .
A keris handle would be haute cuisine . |
20th January 2013, 10:29 PM | #12 |
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Yeah, I completely believe that rats and mice, and even cockroaches could do this sort of damage, but I cannot recall ever having seen it. I guess this is because with my own things I'm super careful to store in a way that prevents such damage, and when I'm looking at other things, for instance to buy, I tend to ignore items that have been damaged.
I always have things left in my house in Solo, and every time I come home to Australia I pack everything that I've left into plastic, then cardboard boxes, then plastic again and seal with packing tape. This would not stop a determined rodent, but my housekeeper is under strict instructions to keep my things safe, and she will stop the rodents. On the subject of spicy and hot food, I get this sort of stuff to eat pretty regular --- not all the time, but maybe half the time. I reckon my wife can't eat anything, including chocolate cake and ice cream unless she has chillies with it. We go out to eat at a restaurant she takes a little plastic bag of birdseye chillies with her. In my garden there are currently 50 odd chilli bushes. Sambal with everything, including all western food, not just the Indonesian stuff. |
20th January 2013, 11:42 PM | #13 | |
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My wife is very similar in this case. |
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20th January 2013, 11:51 PM | #14 |
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Yeah. They're addicts.
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21st January 2013, 12:23 AM | #15 |
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Ghost Peppers ............
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21st January 2013, 09:55 AM | #16 |
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I have heard, as an 'explanation' for a piece missing from the nose of a hilt, that it was taken off for use as, or in, a medicine. This may be a way of explaining away damage, or may have some truth in it, especially if a piece is actually cut off, rather than broken? However, if a piece is used for medicinal purposes, why take it from the most obvious, highly visible part of the hilt? Medicinal use of a piece taken off the base of a hilt was mentoned by 'sipakatuo', 18 July 2009, in the thread 'Question about Bugis hilts'.
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21st January 2013, 04:00 PM | #17 | |
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Regards, Detlef |
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21st January 2013, 07:56 PM | #18 |
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Damn, that's a nice catch Detlef! The damage to the left side of the face and arm sure looks like a rodent went to town on this one.
Very cool and nicely spotted! Cheers, - Thor |
21st January 2013, 08:26 PM | #19 | |
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Hi Thor, the handle belong to Henri. Regards, Detlef |
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22nd January 2013, 12:57 AM | #20 |
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I am not really proud of this one Thor and probably will go with other " ghost
handles " into a dusty drawer ! But ... what a lot I learned! Thank you all for your comments . Last edited by henri; 22nd January 2013 at 08:45 AM. |
22nd January 2013, 11:49 AM | #21 |
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i love the dog story. my greyhound, millie, especially likes to have her food doused with thai sweet chili sauce (i buy it by the litre) with a dash of garlic paste & a dash of fish sauce. i also tend to pick out the red/green/yellow peppers from food & put them in the doggy bowl for her. it guarantees she will wolf it down twice as fast as usual. had some very spicy hot gravy from a jamaican chicken dish left over last night. in the doggy bowl it went. she adored it. she likes it a lot hotter than i do.
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22nd January 2013, 04:14 PM | #22 |
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Hahaha ok, I see now how that could be misunderstood...
By 'catch' I meant exactly that it was very nicely seen, that the damage has indeed come from a hungry mouse - a sharp eye on your part, Detlef. I love this place! - Thor |
22nd January 2013, 09:51 PM | #23 | |
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Regards, Detlef |
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