a Sewar cross-dressing as a Badik?

Moshah · 1st March 2013, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kai

BTW, how old do you estimate the silverwork over the bolster and base of blade to be?

That was quite tricky, Kai.

Since you've asked, I don't think it was that old. The silver was rather thick, though. See few added pix and tell me whether you see it differently or not ...

On the other hand, my greatest worry is that the bolster and upper part of the badik would have been damaged beforehand, and this silver adornment was a repair idea...

I can not fathom that it was a special commission, which if it ever was, maybe Dave Henkel could throw in a few insights on it. Perhaps he has seen some other similar examples back then in N.Malaysia.

Regards,
Moshah

kai · 1st March 2013, 10:32 PM

Hello Moshah,

Quote:

Since you've asked, I don't think it was that old. The silver was rather thick, though. See few added pix and tell me whether you see it differently or not ...

I agree: Looks like decent but possibly modern workmanship - maybe done sometime after WW2?

Quote:

On the other hand, my greatest worry is that the bolster and upper part of the badik would have been damaged beforehand, and this silver adornment was a repair idea...

Those bolsters seem to be very sturdy - have seen only a few damaged examples and a piece with such a hilt is likely to have above average craftmanship as well as receiving decent maintenance. Thus, I guess you can put your worries at rest.

Quote:

maybe Dave Henkel could throw in a few insights on it. Perhaps he has seen some other similar examples back then in N.Malaysia.

Yes, that would be great - we really need more info on traditional motifs on Terengganu silverwork!

Regards,
Kai

DAHenkel · 2nd March 2013, 07:20 AM

Regarding the siver covered bolster...I have seen similar examples though rare enough, but whether it was to cover up a forging flaw or simply embellishment is a matter of speculation.

Also, I wanted to post another example of bahar putih...this on a very small (14cm blade, 21cm OAL) badik Terengganu in my collection.

Moshah · 2nd March 2013, 01:58 PM

What a lovely hilt!

It looks like you have a whitish-black akar bahar there; something I've never seen before!

This is why to my recollection I've seen how akar bahar was utilized mainly by Terengganu craftsmen, and I've seen only very few examples on either Kelantan or Pattani pieces. However, I still did not know whether it is a special commissioned, used for status pieces or simply commissioned whenever it is available. And it is not usually available, though...

On the silver bolster, it just came up to me that if anyone want to cover such flaw, the use of lower grade material or simply a reforge might do the job. Or ordering a brand new badik might be even cheaper back then. Furthermore, the pandais of those days would not simply sell their flaw finished products for their own pride; they rather scrap it off and remake another by using the same material...IMHO.

To pair it with Kai's theory, I think that makes much of the sense, as the part that was susceptible to damage would be the edge and the tip, instead of the sturdy and thick bolster.

However I am not rejecting the theory that the badik might be damaged at certain point of time on his life and ended up being embellished with silver on the hand of dealers...perhaps on not so distant an age from today.

Anyway Dave, did the one you've seen with the silver embellishment was a fairly bad or average piece?

DAHenkel · 3rd March 2013, 02:15 AM

Oh no, its a very nice one...allegedly the property of a member of the Terengganu Royal Family...with a bahar hilt and a very unusual, double edged, pamor blade

Moshah · 3rd March 2013, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DAHenkel

Oh no, its a very nice one...allegedly the property of a member of the Terengganu Royal Family...with a bahar hilt and a very unusual, double edged, pamor blade

Thanks, Dave...to bad I couldn't see it myself.

In the Terengganu state museum, there is an almost similar example of the embellishment practice, where the subject was labeled as "sewar" though, but with a golden embellishment. Pix courtesy of Jentayu, if I am not mistaken (sorry if I did..

)

Back to the badik in question, it seems to me that the silver bolster was made to fit the hilt base, as it was adequately fit. However it is not fixed. Is it normal to have a badik hilt fixed to the tang, or could it be like kerises hilt, where one can remove anytime, anywhere?

2nd March 2013, 07:20 AM	#3
DAHenkel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 125	Regarding the siver covered bolster...I have seen similar examples though rare enough, but whether it was to cover up a forging flaw or simply embellishment is a matter of speculation. Also, I wanted to post another example of bahar putih...this on a very small (14cm blade, 21cm OAL) badik Terengganu in my collection. Attached Images

2nd March 2013, 01:58 PM	#4
Moshah Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 171	What a lovely hilt! It looks like you have a whitish-black akar bahar there; something I've never seen before! This is why to my recollection I've seen how akar bahar was utilized mainly by Terengganu craftsmen, and I've seen only very few examples on either Kelantan or Pattani pieces. However, I still did not know whether it is a special commissioned, used for status pieces or simply commissioned whenever it is available. And it is not usually available, though... On the silver bolster, it just came up to me that if anyone want to cover such flaw, the use of lower grade material or simply a reforge might do the job. Or ordering a brand new badik might be even cheaper back then. Furthermore, the pandais of those days would not simply sell their flaw finished products for their own pride; they rather scrap it off and remake another by using the same material...IMHO. To pair it with Kai's theory, I think that makes much of the sense, as the part that was susceptible to damage would be the edge and the tip, instead of the sturdy and thick bolster. However I am not rejecting the theory that the badik might be damaged at certain point of time on his life and ended up being embellished with silver on the hand of dealers...perhaps on not so distant an age from today. Anyway Dave, did the one you've seen with the silver embellishment was a fairly bad or average piece? Last edited by Moshah; 2nd March 2013 at 02:10 PM.

3rd March 2013, 02:15 AM	#5
DAHenkel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 125	Oh no, its a very nice one...allegedly the property of a member of the Terengganu Royal Family...with a bahar hilt and a very unusual, double edged, pamor blade