VINTAGE / ANTIQUE DAYAK MANDAU SWORD DAYAK PEOPLE, BORNEO, MALAYSIA, INDONESIA.
Item History & Price
VINTAGE / ANTIQUE DAYAK MANDAU SWORDDAYAK PEOPLE, BORNEO, MALAYSIA, INDONESIA. This is a very unusual sword for a couple of reasons.Firstly, it is quite unkempt and dirty as it has not been looked after, you'll find more details about this in the Condition Report.Secondly, I cannot find another example anywhere that is so heavilycarved on the scabbard. It is a DAYAK MANDAU SWORD datingfrom the early to mid 20th Century.A sword that would be used as a machete in daily lif...e in the jungle andalso is the traditional weapon of the Dayak People of Borneo. It is primarily associated with the headhunting tradition of the DayakTribes. The blade is convex on its sharp side and somewhat concave on the other, this is a characteristic of the Mandau.It is a single edged blade measuring 68cm. overall and the blade being52cm. from the hilt to the tip. It is 15mm. wide at the ricasso end and 38mm.at its widest.It is of hardened iron or steel and smithed with piercing fret work. The blade is held firmly inside a carved antler or deer horn or bonegrip which is bound with woven copper.The grip is adorned with dyed pig bristle and/or hair. The Mandau Sword is complete with its Original Scabbard. The scabbard iscarved from wood and bound with rattan. It has attached to it at the backanother scabbard or sheath made of folded wood bark which is stitched withrattan. This sheath would have originally carried a side knife called a PisoRaout which is a small bladed long handled skinning knife. The other side of the scabbard is richly decorated with carved animalbone figures of creatures, humans and deities. The creatures are all lizard like. There are at least 8 figures as wellas other carvings. It is also decorated with animal bristle and hair. CONDITIONREPORT - It is inoriginal condition and showing wear consistent with age and use.It isquite dirty and has not been maintained.The bladehas surface rust and wear showing but it is not pitted and the edge is not chippedor marked. It issharp.Thescabbard has a pieced animal bone carving at the bottom that has some damage. It also has a thin tin or aluminium sheet underneath it presumably to showcaseit, which is dirty. There is a small piece of bone missing to the side of onesmaller deity. Generally it has some marks showing but it is so detailed thatwhen cleaned these would be not noticeable. A DYAKMANDAU SWORD that is a WEAPON and a WORK of ART. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Weguarantee our descriptions are accurate and our prices competitive.Please bear in mind that all our items areantique or vintage and may have some age related issues. If you see something I missed please come backto us and we will take care of it.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Freight - Australian freight is as per Australia Postdomestic freight charges.Domestic insurance is $2 per $100 or part thereof.We willgladly combine shipping where possible. International Buyers Please NoteWEHAPPILY SHIP TO MOST INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS BUT IT HAS TO BE INSURED andPAYMENT BY PAYPAL ONLY.International insurance is $5 for the first $100 and $3.50 for each other$100 or part thereof.We willgladly combine shipping where possible. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges.These charges are the buyers responsibility. Please check with your countrys customs office to determine what theseadditional costs will be prior to bidding/buying. THANK YOU
