Mouseover Zoom loading...
Lot 707
Sword "duku" (pedang, gayang)
Estimated Value:
3.000 € - 5.000 €
Result:
incl. Premium and VAT
Description:
Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak, Iban-Dayak or Kadazan, 19th cent.L. 93,5 cm
Steel, wood, non-ferrous metal, bird feathers. The duku or dukn is a single-edged sword with a curved back blade, usually of European or Indian manufacture, which was widely used as a basic type in the Indo-Malay archipelago. In the form and decoration shown here, it is a prestigious object of the first rank, reserved for successful warriors and headhunters. The shape goes back to the Indo-Afghan pulwar or tulwar, a sword form with a very old history that has survived in Indonesia in an ancient, pre- or early Mughal form. The handle is cast in two parts from bronze, the high-quality fullered blade is of professional manufacture, probably from Brunei. The scabbard is lined with silver plate and decorated with detailed floral and ornamental scrollwork. The scabbard is decorated with a bundle of colonial coins and six bird feathers. The present lot is a high-ranking sword, once belonging to a successful and respected warrior.
Collected from an old German private collection since the 1950s
Among the Iban, the duku is also known as a pedang (sword). The weapon is also known among the Dusun in North Borneo (today: Kadazan), where it is referred to as a “war sword” (gayang) and is distinguished from the mandau, which also fulfills everyday functions. The form is to be confused with the piso podang of the Batak in Sumatra, who have common ethnic origins with the Iban. The Iban also trace their origins back to Sumatran roots. The decoration and ornamentation differ in detail. The Iban, formerly known as the Sea Dayak, are an indigenous ethnic group on Borneo. They belong to the Dayak group. The Iban's home region is the northwest of Borneo, in particular the Malaysian state of Sarawak. With around 680,000 members, they make up around 30% of the population there and are the largest ethnic group. The term “Iban” (the “wanderers”) was originally a foreign term used by other ethnic groups for the Iban and adopted by the European colonial powers. The term was established in Western usage at the beginning of the 20th century by the British colonial official and researcher Charles Hose. It was not until the 1950s that the Iban themselves adopted it as their own name.The Iban, who live in longhouses and practise subsistence farming, used to be feared as warriors and headhunters.In contrast to other Dayak, they are organized in a relatively egalitarian way in everyday life, although there is a highly respected warrior elite
