Indonesian pedang for identification

Sajen · 16th June 2019, 02:20 PM

I've recently purchased an Indonesian pedang which seems to have a great age. It has a black horn handle, sadly with an age crack, blade is of laminated construction. The blade has a concave cross section with a prominent spine. It is not a very fancy sword but I am curious to know from where exact this sword coming.

The sword is 63 cm long overall, blade alone 51,5 cm, spine is 8,5 mm thick behind the handle.

All comments are very welcome!

Ian · 16th June 2019, 03:32 PM

Blade resembles a Moro bangkung on steroids

Sajen · 16th June 2019, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian

Blade resembles a Moro bangkung on steroids

Yes, the blade shape resembles a bangkung blade. But the cross section is very different.

Regards,
Detlef

kai · 16th June 2019, 08:19 PM

Hello Detlef,

Good one! (Let me know...

)

I'm fairly sure this one is from Sulawesi. Would be good to see the blade stained - this might help to narrow things down.

Regards,
Kai

Sajen · 16th June 2019, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kai

Good one! (Let me know...

)

I'm fairly sure this one is from Sulawesi. Would be good to see the blade stained - this might help to narrow things down.

Hello Kai,

Thank you for comment! Sulawesi was my guess as well but wasn't very sure since never have seen a similar one before. But the cross section with the very prominent spine I only know from very old Sulawesi blades.
An etch would need a good polish before and I still have a lot of blade polish jobs in front....

Will let you know in case......

Regards,
Detlef

A. G. Maisey · 16th June 2019, 10:56 PM

This sort of broad, general weaponry is a bit outside my knowledge base, so what I'm putting up for consideration cannot be taken as any sort of expert opinion, only general knowledge based on experience.

There is a Batak sword like this that has a hollow grind --- ie, concave blade face --- it has a name something like rudos, or rodos or similar. Over the years I've had several, and quality and detail varies a lot.

This style of bifurcated hilt is usually associated with Sumatra, lots of stylistic variations, but in other places, including Sulawesi it is somewhere between rare and non-existent.

kai · 17th June 2019, 10:27 PM

Hello Detlef,

Quote:

Thank you for comment! Sulawesi was my guess as well but wasn't very sure since never have seen a similar one before.

You're welcome! While Sumatra is famous for its bifurcated horn hilts, this type is none of those.

There are quite some bifurcated pommel types from Sulawesi, too (cp. Sumara); the more simple ones like this are quite rare though.

Quote:

But the cross section with the very prominent spine I only know from very old Sulawesi blades.

Certainly antique IMHO. Anything before the 19th c. would need some more data to convince me...

Quote:

An etch would need a good polish before and I still have a lot of blade polish jobs

I'd hesitate to give this blade a polish; a cleaning and a quick exploratory etch may do and look better than after a full polish.

Quote:

Will let you know in case......

Thanks!

Regards,
Kai

16th June 2019, 02:20 PM	#1
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 8,469	Indonesian pedang for identification I've recently purchased an Indonesian pedang which seems to have a great age. It has a black horn handle, sadly with an age crack, blade is of laminated construction. The blade has a concave cross section with a prominent spine. It is not a very fancy sword but I am curious to know from where exact this sword coming. The sword is 63 cm long overall, blade alone 51,5 cm, spine is 8,5 mm thick behind the handle. All comments are very welcome! Attached Images

16th June 2019, 03:32 PM	#2
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,023	Blade resembles a Moro bangkung on steroids

16th June 2019, 08:19 PM	#4
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,215	Hello Detlef, Good one! (Let me know... ) I'm fairly sure this one is from Sulawesi. Would be good to see the blade stained - this might help to narrow things down. Regards, Kai

16th June 2019, 10:56 PM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,697	This sort of broad, general weaponry is a bit outside my knowledge base, so what I'm putting up for consideration cannot be taken as any sort of expert opinion, only general knowledge based on experience. There is a Batak sword like this that has a hollow grind --- ie, concave blade face --- it has a name something like rudos, or rodos or similar. Over the years I've had several, and quality and detail varies a lot. This style of bifurcated hilt is usually associated with Sumatra, lots of stylistic variations, but in other places, including Sulawesi it is somewhere between rare and non-existent.