Sword Handle
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This handle for a sword (Mandau) from northern Borneo is carved from deer antler. A grip of plaited fiber covers the shaft, and the distal end is dipped in black resin. The handle has a long spur which gives it a distinctive V-shaped form. The sides are carved with foliate motifs which surround a central floral motif with four petals. Above, a scroll-shaped form wraps around a correspondingly shaped hole and pierces right through the object. The pommel has a small bowl-shaped form with a large cylindrical hole at the center, originally intended for the insertion of a decorative tuft of animal hair
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