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Lot 666
Ball dispenser paru-paru
Estimated Value:
400 € - 600 €
Result:
incl. Premium and VAT
Description:
Toba-Batak, North Sumatra, probably 19th cent.L. 20 cm
A ball dispenser made of dark patinated horn, probably that of the Sumatran mountain goat. Its horn is considered almost indestructible. The hollow body for holding the balls has a lid and shows a stylised face on one side. The body ends in an elongated "beak", the actual ball dispenser, which ensures that the balls are still well secured due to the springy nature of the horn and at the same time easy to remove. The ball dispenser always provided a good overview of the number of balls still available. You could easily pull the balls out of the spring-loaded opening with two fingers. The basically human face - the only decoration on this elegant object - is labelled singa, although the face has nothing zoomorphic about it. The shape of the ball dispenser is often associated with the beak of the sacred hornbill, which thus virtually "spits out" the ball. Horn (mountain goat).
From an important South German private collection, collected from 1975 onwards
The Batak used tin, copper and lead balls as projectiles, which were cast in soapstone moulds. Iron balls posed a greater challenge due to their higher melting point; however, as they were still in use, it can be assumed that they were cast iron with a much lower melting point. In some cases, the bullets were also shaped with a hammer. The rifle has been in use among the Batak for centuries and was mostly used from fortified positions due to its usually enormous size and weight (as "Wallbüchse"; 10 to üover 30 kg are the norm); sometimes even trench-like devices were constructed after years of preparation. Batak settlements were usually well guarded, not least because of slave raiders from the Padang highlands or Aceh. The art of gunsmithing has been known in North Sumatra since the 16th century at the latest; it was probably brought to the archipelago via Ottoman influences - Good condition, slightly chipped
