Shield outside by Piece Dove posted Sep 20, 2018 at 8:51 PM spear handle by Piece Dove posted Sep 20, 2018 at 8:51 PM Spear covers by Piece Dove posted Sep 20, 2018 at 8:51 PM Shield inside by Piece Dove posted Sep 20, 2018 at 8:51 PM from 1976 by Piece Dove posted Sep 20, 2018 at 8:51 PM Shield inside by Piece Dove posted Sep 20, 2018 at 8:51 PM Shield handle by Piece Dove posted Sep 20, 2018 at 8:51 PM from 1976 by Piece Dove posted Sep 20, 2018 at 8:51 PM Where would one go to offer up this beautiful set? The spears were valued at 250 ea in 1976. The spears are bronze. I apologize in advance if I am not showcasing this correctly as I have not posted using media/gallery before. Kindly requesting feedback.
Hi Piece Dove. To attach your Gallery images to your post, use the little "camera" icon. It's called Media Gallery Embed.
Post a link back to here, on Vikingsword forum “ethnic weapons.” Might excite someone there. Market for those is a bit narrow otherwise.
The shield is Dayak, from the island of Borneo. It is in very good condition. Probably made by the Bahau Dayak tribe of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The Bahau are a sub-group of the Apo Kayan Dayak (for search terms). The Dayak are what is called tribal, which is a more inward looking culture. Hence the use of locally sourced materials. The Minangkabau from the island of Sumatra (not Sumantra) are Malays. They were organized as a state, and had a long history of outside contacts. For a very long time they were a Buddhist kingdom with strong ties with the Javanese kingdoms. The kingdom became Islamic in the 16th century. Their shields were mostly metal and made in the general South and Southeast Asian tradition of round 'dahl' shields. The spears could be Sumatran lembing/tombak, but I can't see much of them, could you post more pictures? There are none of the spearheads. Those probably look like these, made for combat and ceremonial purposes. These short ones are made for close combat, they usually have handles or short shafts: These are throwing lembing with long shafts: The covers are very nice, they look like the lembing could have been for ceremonial or status purposes. I would also like to know if there is a pattern on the blades, like this: Btw lembing is the Malay word, tombak the Indonesian word, from the Javanese. Take your pick. I would certainly offer the shield separately from the lembing/tombak. These are for two different groups of collectors. Being a keris collector I would consider buying a tombak from Java or Sumatra, but never a Dayak shield. The Dayak shield would do well in a tribal arts auction. The spears, if they are Minangkabau lembing, would do better in an auction with keris and tombak. If you are looking for one auction for the two lots, there are Southeast Asia auctions and 'Indonesia and Pacific Arts' auctions.
"I would consider buying a tombak from Java or Sumatra," Specially if it had all that white in the blade....
Yep, Tosan Aji* all the way. These are of the type that could tempt me, if the price is right. Mind you, that centre one in the long shafted lembing picture I posted has a very nice old shape. *Tosan Aji means sacred iron.
Thank you all for your time in sharing your wisdom. I am going to attempt to load some additional pictures. I am not seeing the coveted white on the blades. I am trying to upload requested pictures and hope to within the next couple days.
Looking forward. It isn't mandatory. Here is my Minangkabau woman's keris, no pamor (that silvery and white pattern). It is inlaid with gold instead, some of it has worn away over time.
