Piso Gading

Roland_M · 2nd January 2017, 08:13 PM

Dear Forummembers,

A happy new year and a Piso Gading from the Batak people in Sumatra.
The massive single edge blade is 55cm long (46cm blade only).
The fluted handle is cut from a massive piece of ivory.
The scabbard is silver decorated and has a nice and interesting brass chain. The piece of leather was added by me.

I received the blade in a badly corroded condition, it took weeks of hard work to bring it back to life.
It was very helpful that the blade was in untouched condition, so me was able to keep the original shape of the blade.

The steel is very worth a more detailed view. It is made from laminated steel with inserted cutting edge (San Mai construction), without a specific forging pattern.

The blade was differential hardened with a beautiful Hamon on both sides. On one side the Hamon (Temperline) is straight, while on the Hamon on other side follows almost exactly the inserted cutting edge.
A very beautiful and artistic solution.
The most exiting thing on this blade is that it has clear Nie-Crystals.
Nie-Crystals are a result of differential hardening and in Japan a sign of quality. The more crystals the better.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and everybody is welcome to comment this extraordinary beautiful sword.

Best wishes,
Roland

Roland_M · 2nd January 2017, 08:14 PM

Detailed pictures of the blade from my scanner.

CharlesS · 2nd January 2017, 10:23 PM

Roland,

Yours is an absolutely gorgeous example of a piso gading in its "purest" form.

Below is another with a lovely but nontraditional scabbard, and uniquely tinted hilt. It has a pattern welded blade.

Battara · 2nd January 2017, 11:25 PM

What a great piece and great work!

Usually the mounts on these are white metal (nickel and copper) and not silver. Did you test the metal?

Great laminations on the blade.

Roland_M · 3rd January 2017, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Battara

What a great piece and great work!

Usually the mounts on these are white metal (nickel and copper) and not silver. Did you test the metal?

Great laminations on the blade.

Silver is a statement from the seller, he is a good friend of mine now. He tested it and it is a silver alloy with an unknown part of silver, probably not very much.

Battara · 3rd January 2017, 09:00 PM

This is great news. This might also mean that several Batak pieces with "white metal" might actually have real silver in them...........

Loedjoe · 4th January 2017, 02:43 PM

This cannot be a piso gading, as the hilt is silver/white metal, but perhaps this is an appropriate thread for it?

72 cm, blade 52 cm, hilt 8.5 cm. Light European? blade, perhaps more of a status piece than a fighting sword.

From the collection of the late Martin Kerner.

Should this be called a kalasan/djonap?

Sajen · 4th January 2017, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loedjoe

This cannot be a piso gading, as the hilt is silver/white metal, but perhaps this is an appropriate thread for it?

72 cm, blade 52 cm, hilt 8.5 cm. Light European? blade, perhaps more of a status piece than a fighting sword.

From the collection of the late Martin Kerner.

Should this be called a kalasan/djonap?

Very nice piece as well! And yes, I would call it kalasan. Have you polished the fittings? I think the reddish metal is suassa.

Regards,
Detlef

Battara · 4th January 2017, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sajen

Very nice piece as well! And yes, I would call it kalasan. Have you polished the fittings? I think the reddish metal is suassa.

Regards,
Detlef

I agree with you Detlef. This does look like suassa, and the rest of the hilt material looks silver to me and not white metal.

Also a wonderful piece!

CharlesS · 4th January 2017, 03:02 PM

Loedjoe,

I think you are spot on that this cannot be called a gading, because of the very meaning of the word. Perhaps kalasan is a better term.

Regardless, your example is as lovely and ornate as I have seen. Personally, this is one I would clean up a bit, after all, it was the "bling" that you wanted to be seen, but I believe that is up to any individual collector's discretion. The scabbard there is so lovely and elegant!

Roland_M · 5th January 2017, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loedjoe

This cannot be a piso gading, as the hilt is silver/white metal, but perhaps this is an appropriate thread for it?

72 cm, blade 52 cm, hilt 8.5 cm. Light European? blade, perhaps more of a status piece than a fighting sword.

From the collection of the late Martin Kerner.

Should this be called a kalasan/djonap?

Hello Loedjoe,

I think this is the right thread for this beautiful sword, thank you for showing it. I think the blade is of local production, Batak, Aceh and Dayak had great blacksmiths.

In my opinion, the best Aceh-swords are far above European standard of the late 18th and 19th century. Thin, flexible and a cutting edge, hard as glass.

If you find signs of lamination on your blade but no specific pattern, it is almost 100% of local production.

Such a nice scabbard and hilt probably contain a good blade, so I would polish it a little bit to see what is below the corrosion.

Regards,
Roland

2nd January 2017, 08:13 PM	#1
Roland_M Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Germany Posts: 523	Piso Gading Dear Forummembers, A happy new year and a Piso Gading from the Batak people in Sumatra. The massive single edge blade is 55cm long (46cm blade only). The fluted handle is cut from a massive piece of ivory. The scabbard is silver decorated and has a nice and interesting brass chain. The piece of leather was added by me. I received the blade in a badly corroded condition, it took weeks of hard work to bring it back to life. It was very helpful that the blade was in untouched condition, so me was able to keep the original shape of the blade. The steel is very worth a more detailed view. It is made from laminated steel with inserted cutting edge (San Mai construction), without a specific forging pattern. The blade was differential hardened with a beautiful Hamon on both sides. On one side the Hamon (Temperline) is straight, while on the Hamon on other side follows almost exactly the inserted cutting edge. A very beautiful and artistic solution. The most exiting thing on this blade is that it has clear Nie-Crystals. Nie-Crystals are a result of differential hardening and in Japan a sign of quality. The more crystals the better. I hope you enjoy the pictures and everybody is welcome to comment this extraordinary beautiful sword. Best wishes, Roland Attached Images

2nd January 2017, 08:14 PM	#2
Roland_M Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Germany Posts: 523	Detailed pictures of the blade from my scanner. Attached Images

2nd January 2017, 10:23 PM	#3
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,855	Roland, Yours is an absolutely gorgeous example of a piso gading in its "purest" form. Below is another with a lovely but nontraditional scabbard, and uniquely tinted hilt. It has a pattern welded blade. Attached Images Last edited by CharlesS; 3rd January 2017 at 11:34 AM.

4th January 2017, 02:43 PM	#7
Loedjoe Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Oxford (UK) Posts: 96	This cannot be a piso gading, as the hilt is silver/white metal, but perhaps this is an appropriate thread for it? 72 cm, blade 52 cm, hilt 8.5 cm. Light European? blade, perhaps more of a status piece than a fighting sword. From the collection of the late Martin Kerner. Should this be called a kalasan/djonap? Attached Images

4th January 2017, 03:02 PM	#10
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,855	Loedjoe, I think you are spot on that this cannot be called a gading, because of the very meaning of the word. Perhaps kalasan is a better term. Regardless, your example is as lovely and ornate as I have seen. Personally, this is one I would clean up a bit, after all, it was the "bling" that you wanted to be seen, but I believe that is up to any individual collector's discretion. The scabbard there is so lovely and elegant! Last edited by CharlesS; 5th January 2017 at 12:34 AM.

2nd January 2017, 11:25 PM	#4
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,139	What a great piece and great work! Usually the mounts on these are white metal (nickel and copper) and not silver. Did you test the metal? Great laminations on the blade.

3rd January 2017, 09:00 PM	#6
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,139	This is great news. This might also mean that several Batak pieces with "white metal" might actually have real silver in them...........