Crowns on Aceh weapons revisited

spellchant · 3rd June 2011, 04:20 AM

Hello everyone, this is my first post.

Thought I'd share with you a picture of my old Rencong.

This is a family heirloom which was given to me by my late grandfather. According to him this rencong was forged during the early 1950's by a famous Rencong maker back in the day.

As I'm sure many of you here know, there are various types of Rencong in Aceh, each with its own distinctive characteristics. This particular piece belongs to the Meucunggek class, reserved for royalties, nobilities and other distinguished groups of people. My grandfather was a highly decorated provincial chief of Police in Aceh and thus was awarded this Rencong as a symbol of gratitude by the Aceh people.

It's hilt and scabbard are made of ivory, while the blade itself is made from a material known locally as 'besi putih' or white iron/steel (correct me if I'm wrong) said to have supernatural properties

. The hilt is decorated with about 10 grams of 20 carat gold which adds to the overall value of this finely crafted work of art.

As rencong forging is dying art, you're unlikely to find many rencong of this caliber nowadays.

Hope I'm off to a good start.

Rick · 3rd June 2011, 02:32 PM

Welcome to the forums .

Battara · 3rd June 2011, 03:23 PM

Nice piece and thank you for sharing your great family heirloom.

Welcome to our little forum!

kai · 3rd June 2011, 10:44 PM

Welcome to the forum - it's great to receive any input from the peoples from whom these pieces actually originate!

Quote:

This is a family heirloom which was given to me by my late grandfather. According to him this rencong was forged during the early 1950's by a famous Rencong maker back in the day.

Any chance to research his name? Your inherited rencong does look like what I associate with post-WW2 work, indeed. Quality seems to be nice though!

Has the blade always been kept shiny like this? Any idea/hints wether the blade is laminated and/or tempered?

If possible, please post close-up pics of the base of the blade as well as the base and tip of the hilt - I'd really love to have a detailed look at the style of the decorations! Also a pic of the blade taken directly from above (to avoid distortions) would be great! Thanks a lot in advance!

Quote:

As rencong forging is dying art, you're unlikely to find many rencong of this caliber nowadays.

Utami used to post here and showed some recently crafted pieces. AFAIK, he lost contact with the noted bladesmith after the tsunami desaster...

Quote:

Hope I'm off to a good start.

Definitely.

Thanks again!

Regards,
Kai

3rd June 2011, 04:20 AM	#1
spellchant Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Indonesia Posts: 2	Hello everyone, this is my first post. Thought I'd share with you a picture of my old Rencong. This is a family heirloom which was given to me by my late grandfather. According to him this rencong was forged during the early 1950's by a famous Rencong maker back in the day. As I'm sure many of you here know, there are various types of Rencong in Aceh, each with its own distinctive characteristics. This particular piece belongs to the Meucunggek class, reserved for royalties, nobilities and other distinguished groups of people. My grandfather was a highly decorated provincial chief of Police in Aceh and thus was awarded this Rencong as a symbol of gratitude by the Aceh people. It's hilt and scabbard are made of ivory, while the blade itself is made from a material known locally as 'besi putih' or white iron/steel (correct me if I'm wrong) said to have supernatural properties . The hilt is decorated with about 10 grams of 20 carat gold which adds to the overall value of this finely crafted work of art. As rencong forging is dying art, you're unlikely to find many rencong of this caliber nowadays. Hope I'm off to a good start. Attached Images

3rd June 2011, 02:32 PM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,336	Welcome to the forums .

3rd June 2011, 03:23 PM	#3
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,272	Nice piece and thank you for sharing your great family heirloom. Welcome to our little forum!