What's going on here (Batak)?

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by kai

The scabbard exhibits some traditional Karo features including the profile of the crosspiece. I have a Karo dagger with a similarly almost-2-dimensional crosspiece. I have not yet been able to ascertain that this is a genuine old style though.

Hello Kai,

Some lopah petawaran scabbards have similar cross piece styles, see attached examples. I think that this is a very old genuine style IMVHO.

Regards,
Detlef

[kai]

Hello Detlef,

Some lopah petawaran scabbards have similar cross piece styles, see attached examples. I think that this is a very old genuine style IMVHO.

Yes, possibly: As I mentioned, it is tough to find well-provenanced, early examples. I haven't seen any of this specific laterally compressed type that I firmly trust to be from the old days, say, over 150 years old...

Paolo's LP seems to also exhibit this thin silver crosspiece; it's most likely much younger than the blade though.

As I mentioned, the crosspiece style - as seen in profile! - is genuinely old. In addition to your example, there are more flamboyant traditional shapes, too.

Regards,
Kai

[JeffS]

Thank you for the discussion. Funny, I'm the owner of that lopah petwaran now... Minor point, but still curious - the metal streaks at the base of the blade are not the same material as the braising. It has distinct copper or suasa appearance. I've blown up the photos.

Even earlier (before colonial contact), fighting and hunting with blades was already considered anachronistic and largely superseded by firearms.

I'm having troubles rectifying this with the prevalence of all-business colonial period Batak swords. If the market is an indication, kalasan were in wide use during this period and these have thick spines, sharp, and are very stabby.

Also the woodcarving for the scabbard seems to be correct; was the timber stained though?

Not sure, almost looks like a thin resin coat. Some of the silverwork was also had resin like residue on it. The areas at sides of the bands is nearly black. The wood has extremely straight grain.

[Ian]

Jeff, thanks for posting this very interesting item. You have been doing some homework on it, obviously, and these cross-cultural pieces are always interesting. I don't find the term "tourist" at all pejorative when quality materials are employed and there is obvious skill in the craftsmanship.

[werecow]

Originally Posted by kai

Hello Jeff,
No, not any genuine Aceh blade (unless it is a full-size peudeueng panjang that got cut down and strongly modified - the wide fuller running through to the tip of the blade might be a hint on this). Aceh trade blades are being found in Batak dress, too.

However, these Aceh-style blades also got copied by local bladesmiths. While obviously based on Aceh style, these Batak blades tend to exhibit distinct features. They are also put in local fittings - again, more or less based on Aceh style with more obvious local twists...

The bit of the "crown" (or is it a flower?) sticking out of the resin does look a bit like the ones on a sikin panjang, so that would suggest a reshaped blade. But it's a little thicker than the examples I could find just now, especially the flared section at the base of the blade sticking out of the "crown". Not sure what the normal range is on these.