What's going on here (Batak)?

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by kai

While the "snake" (rather from the mythological naga spectrum) and "lizard" (possibly Boraspati ni Tano?) motifs are certainly traditional, they obviously were quite en vogue with the colonial officials and tourists. From the craftsmanship, this hilt does not appear to be from the "good ol' days", I'm afraid. Also the janus-like double faces or back-to-back figures were a common motif of hilt carvers during the first decades of the 20th century.

Hello Kai,

I agree that the hilt looks like a later replacement and doesn't show the best carving. But the nice silver ferrule seems to be made for this hilt. And then the brittle resin which was removed from Jeff.
It takes time for the resin or cutler's resin to get brittle.
The blade got a new handle a long time ago but to be certain that it was done for selling purpose is a little bit gamy IMVHO.

Regards,
Detlef

[kai]

Hello Detlef,

I agree that the hilt looks like a later replacement and doesn't show the best carving. But the nice silver ferrule seems to be made for this hilt.

Quite possibly - however, traditional silver/gold smithing survived for much longer time since jewellery enjoyed continued interest within Christianized culture.

And then the brittle resin which was removed from Jeff.
It takes time for the resin or cutler's resin to get brittle.

The time frame I'm suggesting (around 100 years) should allow for some ageing, especially if starting with a recipe for filling cavities rather than a more elastic mix for setting functional blades.

Keep the resin and have a C14 analysis done, Jeff!

Regards,
Kai