Dear friends,

Look at the pattern of this wonderful sword.

Kind regards

Manouchehr

Courtesy of Alex Huangfu.

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I really appreciate you taking the time to find and share some of the more exotic (to me) weapons you post.

So many times I find myself looking in wonder at things I could not imagine existed.

You are very welcome Joe.

Kind regards

Manouchehr

That's one of those swords that just makes you stop and say "Wow." The blade is incredible but I'm very curious about the Handle too . . . It looks like it combines metal and organic components. What a Work of Art.

Which part of Indonesia does it come from, anyway? As you all know, mine is a pretty large country with a large number of martial cultures as well, so "Indonesian" doesn't really help much for definign the weapon's ethnographic provenance. Moreover, the weapon looks rather modern, or at least heavily influenced by Dutch or Chinese designs (or both)

The next example has also a pamor blade but not as nice as the first one.


Courtesy of Oriental Arms
"A very nice Parang sword from Indonesia. 20 inches long pamor blade Carved horn hilt in a white metal collar and wood scabbard bound with white metal fittings. 27 inches total length."

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This is quickly becoming another one of my favorite weapon designs. They have a very nice air of understated elegance, can someone tell me who exactly used them? In regards to Social Class and what they where used for? I know I can't be the only one looking at the point and thinking of a Broken-Back Seax, even though that probably isn't the fairest comparison.

Thank you yet again Manouchehr.

Ah. Palembang. It's probably a weapon from the early modern era, then--the decoration and everything looks like it comes from the 16th or 17th centuries. Which means it still qualifies as a genuine antique, just that the decoration and form is a little more "international" in style and less strikingly insular than weapons made even earlier. I take it the second example also comes from Sumatra? The profusion of metal elements on the scabbard is probably an Indian or Turkish influence, which is srongest there.

Exactly that--the metal scabbard decoration looks a bit like a local assimiliations of Turkish, Persian, or Muslim Indian designs, because older native scabbards tend to have few if any metal components. I assume we're all aware that the early-modern Islamic kingdoms in Sumatra had extensive trading contacts with Ottoman Turkey, Safavid Persia, and Mughal India, and that the Sumatran products were often heavily influenced by this trade.

Dear friends,

The next one is really interesting as it has the inscriptions:

There is no God but Allah
Mohammad is his messenger (prophet).

Courtesy of Oriental Arms

"A very unusual Parang sword from Indonesia. Fullered blade 22 inches long inlaid with Arabic characters. Carved wood hilt in a brass collar and wood scabbard bound with braided rattan fibers soaked in black lacquer. Original carrying cord. 31 inches total length."

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