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Lot Y698
A shark knife "wedung" or "golok"
Estimated Value:
2.500 € - 3.500 €
Result:
incl. Premium and VAT
Description:
Indonesia, Bali, mid to early 19th cent.L. 64,5 cm
Steel, non-ferrous metal, wood, tortoiseshell. A very rare, elaborate hair knife from Bali. Heavy, single-edged blade, horn handle with large pommel. The knife has a bulbous blade with a decorative pit and geometric brass inlays and an asymmetrical cross-section, the back of the blade is decorated with makkara brass applications (a mythical sea monster from the Puranic epics, stylized here). The handle has an elaborately carved pommel in the shape of a “fern”, but it is probably an abstract mythical creature based on the Malay model (comparisons can be made with handles from South Sumatra, Palembang). The back of the handle bears the garuda mungkur (a garuda dragon bird looking backwards as a symbol of ominousness). Scabbard in sandang-walikat form with a widened mouth, blade sheath covered with tortoiseshell, mouthpiece carved in relief with floral motifs and dyed red.
Collected from an old German private collection since the 1950s
Hae knives of exactly this type are already a common form on bronze staffs of the 14th century and probably have a very long history dating back to South India. The shape is related to the Nepalese kukri and the inward-curved swords that came to India in the Greco-Roman period. They are found in a similar form throughout the archipelago and also in the Philippines, as well as in mainland Southeast Asia. They can be traced back to the first millennium on temple reliefs. In Bali, they are worn and used in this elaborate form for funeral rituals and sacrifices. The terminological distinction between golok and wedung is imprecise. The wedung has a primarily representative function - usually with a slimmer, bulbous blade (as in this case), while golok refers to an everyday chopping tool with a wider, front-heavy blade. From the earliest historical times up to the (contemporary) princely period, the wedung was part of ceremonial court dress
