Bali Hilt ID???

[A. G. Maisey]

Re inferior wood in hilts.

Maybe not David. I have a number of older Bali hilts that have been carved from wood that is less than premium. I think I would be hard pushed to find a newly made hilt in poor quality wood, everything I've seen in Bali in recent years has been from good quality material.

But then again, this hilt has been painted, and it seems to be general practice to use lesser material when it is to be covered with paint, & this applies to older hilts & more recent ones.

I doubt that we can use material quality as an indicator of possible age.

I do not know if the hunchback can be associated with Wisnu.

EDIT

just a thought:- Wisnu is associated with economic actvities, maybe the carver had a hunched over accountant in mind when he wanted a model, or maybe the client was a hunched over accountant or some other desk bound occupation.