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22nd February 2013, 09:42 AM | #1 | |
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Of course the poor dugong mentioned above was rather small, but perhaps the dugongs / sea cows of those days were fairly big as to provide enough sources for those massive pekaka hilts? It happen to the tigers and lions too, whereas now you could hardly see them raised up as big a size as their predecessors... |
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22nd February 2013, 10:10 AM | #2 | |
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Hello Moshah,
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Have a look at this recent thread and another one discussing dugong. Regards, Kai |
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22nd February 2013, 04:26 PM | #3 |
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Hi Mosha,
Wow, thanks for the extra pictures! My estimate in all three cases is hippopotamus - again due to the presence of both these concentric laminations as well as the angular dots. - In no. 2 of the interstitial cavity is even visible (still there?) - cool! The hilts are very beautiful - if you ever think of selling no. 1 - let me know. Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) teeth don't have a central cavity like a TIZ but do have concentric laminations. These are formed tighter together than those of hippo however, and the ivory itself is very hard and dense. I enclose a couple of pictures I've taken from the collection of Copenhagen Zoological Museum. The first is of an average sperm whale tooth: about 12-15 cm long and 100 - 150 g. Notice that the overall shape would fit quite well with some keris hilts, although I've never had a confirmed specimen in hand myself. As I recently showed in a thread on Sikin panjang the teeth can grow much bigger: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...0&postcount=15 The second picture is of a sperm whale tooth split longitudinally and then treated with acid, so as to better display the laminations. Notice how little space the pulp cavity actually takes up. This is where the nerves and vascular system connects with the tooth. Note also, that many other whales have teeth. Most of them are however, in spite of the whales themselves growing rather large, only a couple of cm., but there are other species like the killer whale Orcinus orca, which also produce teeth of a significant size. I've found this article which describes the presence of 29(!) different species of whales in Indonesian waters: http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/149116 The six species from Balaenopteridae are irrelevant to us, as they grow baleen and not teeth. Of the other mentioned species, I know only that the killer- and sperm whales grow teeth so large, that they could be considered useful in our context - the rest I am unsure about. Would be very interesting to find out. Interestingly the article also describes the presence of whaling in Indonesian history as well as the contemporary level of hunting that has been performed on the species. It mentions that 612 sperm whales where taken from 1959 - 1994 from Lembata Island only - so the source for sperm whale ivory certainly seems to have been there. Regarding walrus tusks, please see my next reply below. Best wishes, - Thor |
22nd February 2013, 05:56 PM | #4 |
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Hi DAHenkel,
I completely share your skepticism regarding the use of hippopotamus ivory in SEA, especially considering how relatively common they seem to be among ivory hilts. I have no idea... I am just relating to the morphology of the ivory itself and given the characteristics displayed, there are just not really any local options. I too find it absolutely mind-boggling that this trade wouldn't have been described in the literature somewhere. Regarding walrus tusk as a possible source, it is true when kai speaks about the characteristics of the inner core composed of osteodentine. It looks a bit like boiled rice. However, walrus tusks on old bulls grow really large and the diameter huge. -I've seen ones where the thickness of the layers surrounding the core was easily 5 - 7 cm. Also, the core does not extend to the tip. If walrus tusk is carved in such a way that the piece contains no core, we lose this identifying character. Please see attachment for the standard walrus tusk cross-section photo. The layers around the core consists mainly of dentine and a - sometimes rather thick - surrounding layer of cementum. Because of the way they are deposited, these can show a laminar structure in cross section, similar to that of the hippo. With age, these layers will tend to crack lengthwise down the tusk and radially in cross-section (as seen in the photo) I've sometimes, although on very few occasions, seen these cracks overgrow again and form small inclusions along them giving the appearance of "dots in a row". However, because of the structure of the walrus tusk, these dots will lie on a straight line as opposed to in an angle and they will appear perpendicular to the concentric laminations, as opposed to wedged in between them, as is apparent in Mosha's hilts above. I am not disregarding walrus as a possible source for keris hilts - compared to most of you guys I've seen very few hilts in my life. I just don't believe it is the source material in the examples presented above. All the best, - Thor Last edited by T. Koch; 23rd February 2013 at 08:28 AM. |
26th February 2013, 12:18 PM | #5 | |
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Yup the cavity is still there in hilt # 2. Previously I have tried to foolishly drop the superglue in it, just for precaution, until it pools in the cavity and dried. I think I've resolves the issue but after a week the residues gone and the cavity is back! Enclosed were extra pix for hilt # 1. The edges of this particular hilt tend to be quite transparent a bit (see the fin of the pekaka on hilt 1 (d) example & the nose on hilt 1 (a) I've posted beforehand.), unlike any other gigi hilt I have had. Do you have any theory for that? Regards, Moshah Last edited by Moshah; 26th February 2013 at 12:28 PM. Reason: adding some info |
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26th February 2013, 12:26 PM | #6 | |
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BTW attached were extra pix of hilt # 3, the full built and close up. I don't know what happen but it looks like he's having a bad measles there - something I haven't see on my other gigi hilts. Perhaps a different kind of tusk / ivory, as I don't think this measle-thingy can be called patinated, isn't it? Regards, Moshah |
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26th February 2013, 03:58 PM | #7 |
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Hi Mosha,
I'm not sure, but would think it could be because the nose is carved from the outer layer of cementum It also makes sense as it seems to be the most extreme part of the little guy. The transparency of the nose is what makes him so cute! The "mis"-colored one in the bottom pic is the same material as the others, IMO. Sometimes ivory just ages more beautifully than in other cases. It's the same if you look at the walrus hilts above - some become golden and lustrous with time while others become grey and 'dirty' looking. I guess it depends on what kind of life the material has had and which kind of environment it's been stored in. For this reason I in some cases personally find pieces of antler or bone more attractive than some pieces of ivory. I really love a warm and golden color and the aesthetic expression is more important to me in a piece, than the type of material. I've found a new pekaka hilt in walrus ivory for you, but the photo is from a dealers page, so I'll send you the link in a pm. We're not allowed to publically post pictures of stuff for sale, even if we don't reveal the source of the photo ...right? Take care, - Thor |
26th February 2013, 09:13 PM | #8 | |
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Hello Thor,
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Regards, Kai |
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26th February 2013, 10:33 PM | #9 | |
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Thanks for the extra pics, Moshah!
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From the pics, the tip of the beak almost looks like a repair while the rest of the TIZ is obviously fine despite the unusual choice of placing it that close to the edge of the piece - looks like the carver was hoping to avoid including it but ran out of material... Regards, Kai |
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28th February 2013, 12:51 PM | #10 | ||
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Since this material was dearly prized back then, I believe the carver's intention was to make the most from the chunk of material he got. Rightfully they were skilled artisan as well, as they wouldn't rush the process for $$$, unlike these days. Regards, Moshah |
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28th February 2013, 09:39 PM | #11 | |
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Regards, Kai |
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1st March 2013, 03:45 AM | #12 |
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Hi kai,
No, unfortunately I haven't been able to photograph any cuts from dugong ivory. I have however, recently for the first time seen dugong teeth in person and to my great surprise they are solid with almost no central cavity - not hollow as I thought a lot of available photos seem to show. This has somewhat altered my opinion of what can - and can't be - cut from dugong teeth. I have taken photos of the teeth in situ and will upload them when I have a chance to dig them out of my archive at work. Regarding the ID based on laminations alone, I agree a 110% with you kai, that it's not a sufficient character alone. Detlef, until I have actually seen dugong ivory in some cut sections, my best guess would be that the hilt you show is carved from hippo incisor. It fits the concentric layers with the central dot as well as the general outline - see standard reference picture attached. If they exported the tusk to SEA , then surely it wouldn't be too far fetched to assume, that the incisors went the same route? - beautiful hilt btw! All the best, - Thor |
26th February 2013, 07:19 PM | #13 | |
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Regards, Detlef |
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26th February 2013, 09:11 PM | #14 |
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Thanks, Detlef, that would be great to see both hilts here!
Regards, Kai |
28th February 2013, 07:18 PM | #15 | |
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And here the picture from the dugong ivory hilt. Carved from a tusk those who can reach a length from 20 until 25 cm. The ivory look similar like elephant ivory but have a concentric structure and by this you can recognize dugong ivory. Regards, Detlef |
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28th February 2013, 09:33 PM | #16 | |
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I'm not completely convinced of the identification though: a concentric structure per se doesn't seem to be enough to narrow down on dugong IMVHO; these can be found in ivory of different origin (including spermwhale and relatives). However, the somewhat angular core as well as the longish inner line may be a better character allowing a positive identification. Thor, have you some pics of cross-sections from dugong tusks? Regards, Kai |
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