Southeast Asian & Japanese Arms & Art
Lot 277:
Unique WW II Period Indonesian MANDAU Sword ~ Japanese Hilt & Inscription on Blade. A most odd form of sword and one of the most interestingobjects in the Schmiedt Collection. This sword appears to marry two distinct cultures in aparticular time period around the WWII period. The blade of this sword is a classic Dayak bladedisplaying exceptional quality chiseled iron decorative details and blade profile of the stylefound on fine Dayak blades. The decorative vinework along the spine of this blade is of veryfine quality, while blade is inlaid at the base with several copper circles, and incised with whatappears to be Japanese kanji characters.The handle of this sword appears to be a cast brassversion of a Japanese WWII naval sword, with eithercrossguard taken from such a sword or the handle castentirely from a carved copy of such a handle.The marriage of two such pieces could only have takenplace during the Japanese occupation of Borneo, andlikely done locally, so the sword may be dated to theperiod of March 1942-September 1945. The Japanesewere as cruel in their occupation of Dutch Indonesia asthey were elsewhere in their occupations, and by late1944 the Dayaks of West Kalimantan had begun killingJapanese in retaliation for the cruelty of Japanese control. The Japanese in particular perpetrateda series of massacres in Kalimantan that exterminated the Malay elite regardless of their origincalled the Pontianak Massacres and which sparked resistance amongst the Malay and Dayak ofBorneo. During May and June 1945, some Japanese were killed in a rebellion by the Dayaks inSanggau. This rebellion, during which many Dayaks and Japanese were killed, occurred fromApril through August 1945, and was called the "Majang Desa War".This unique sword was likely a product of this tumultuous time period and speaks to the unique forced cultural intermingling of this period during WWII.Total Length (inside scabbard if present) : 25 1/4" Blade Length : 20 1/4"References:1. Van Zonneveld, A.G. (2001) Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago.Leiden: Art Books2. Davidson, Jamie Seth (2002). Violence and Politics in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.University of Washington.3. Heidhues, Mary F. Somers (2003). Golddiggers, Farmers, and Traders in the "ChineseDistricts" of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Volume 34 of Southeast Asia publicationsseries (illustrated ed.). SEAP Publications.Detailed condition reports are not included in this catalog. For additional information, including condition reports, please contact us at [email protected]
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