Boer,Paul Kruger's sword,what is it?

[silverclaws]

Originally Posted by ariel

When S. Africa was a Dutch colony, there were quite a lot of Malay slaves brought from Indonesia ( ever tried South African national dish call Bobotjie?). But they were mostly from Java and a bit from Sumatra.
Oom Kruger lived much later, when the British were in control and the importation of foreign workers was limited to the Indians ( Gandhi started there). Also, he never, ever left S. Africa.
If it indeed came from S. Africa, it was likely a souvenir, or ... I bet there was a ton of crazy Brits and Boers who collected sharp and pointy things

I Thankyou for your information,we are learning more and more each day.The weapon did indeed come from SA,the people that own it have recently relocated to Britain and from what I understand was given to them by descendants of Paul Kruger.

It is entirely possible that it may have originally been a souvenir from foreign shores that found it's way into his possesion or family,but a thought exists about Oom Paul as President of the Transvaal,would a weapon like that be a gift from a foreign dignitary?I have heard That it is a good example of a mandau,would it be likely that it would be suitable as a gift?

I also did wonder if were possible that any records were kept of official engagements by the president that might give reference to contact with the people of Borneo and there possibly shine some light on the mandaus origin or how it came to be in the family.

[kai]

Hello Andrew,

Ben and a few others here will hopefully nail down the origin of this Mandau. A piece from southwestern Borneo could show up in either British or Dutch collections.

By that time Borneo was firmly under British and Dutch rule. There are early presentation pieces for the Dutch and British crown. Due to the strict colonial administration I don't think it's likely that some local sultan (much less a member of the D(a)yak gentry) travelled to Transvaal or sent emissaries. If something that exotic ever happened, you should be able to find a notice in SA newspapers (I assume the libraries in London will have complete sets).

Apparently, presentation pieces were also given to some local colonial officers. Also early souvenir pieces of lesser quality which were never meant to be used "for real" are known (some of these are now veritable antiques, too). This is the real thing though and my best guess would be that a British officer picked this up while stationed in Borneo (Sarawak), moved on to SA, and possibly presented it as a gift to Paul Kruger - maybe he was more interested in Zulu pieces...

Regards,
Kai

[asomotif]

I believe the hilt is Mendalam type.

There is one depicted in 'Quer durch Borneo'
And this might well be the same period approx. 1900

Best regards,
Willem

[asomotif]

Found it !
the Mendalam mandau from Quer Durch Borneo.
Sad enough it does not have a close up of the handle.

[Jim McDougall]

Outstanding!!!
I love it when a provenanced weapon such as this turns up in a completely incongruent cultural sphere and is researched back to its origins and how it probably got there. Now thats history!!! I am always amazed at the fantastic core of knowledge held here on these weapons, and its great to learn more about them in this context. Thank you so much guys!!!

Nicely done Asomotif! Can you please note where you found this just for future reference?

All the best,
jim

[kai]

Hello Jim and Andrew,

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/17379

This is well worth reading!

Regards,
Kai

[Jim McDougall]

Thanks very much Kai, will look into that
All the best,
Jim

[Mytribalworld]

Originally Posted by asomotif

Found it !
the Mendalam mandau from Quer Durch Borneo.
Sad enough it does not have a close up of the handle.

Its good possible that its a Mendalam type, however it doesn't have the typical "gear wheel" ( see my own example) carving on the handle.That wheel is found on many Mendalam hilts carved around 1900 when Nieuwenhuis visited Borneo.
I think also that Krugers sword dates from this time seen to the carving.
I also know that Kruger retired in The Netherlands ( and died in Switzerland)
he was visting The Hague in 1900.So its also possible that he got the sword here in the Netherlands probaly as a gift. It was use that times to make some show wich the rich treasures of " our colonies".

Arjan.

[silverclaws]

Originally Posted by asomotif

Found it !
the Mendalam mandau from Quer Durch Borneo.
Sad enough it does not have a close up of the handle.

Very similar I can see and even tried to do a photoshop job on it,not very successful,but the similarities are clear.Perhaps it is of the same craftsman or regional style;