Ceremonial Knife from Bali

The Indonesian weaponry includes multitude of knives fro defferent purposes. One of the most interesting ones is the ceremonial knife from Bali, finely decorated and usually coming with an oversized scabbard. These type of ceremonial knives may have been used for funerary rites.

A good exemplar is offered here. The  blade is  forged from laminated steel, rather heavy with filed spine and deeply clipped tip. The handle is beautifully  carved horn with a big brass collar. The long and oversized  scabbard is wood finely carved at its mouth and painted red black and gold.

Blade 8 inches. Total length (in scabbard) 22 inches. Very good condition. Paints lightly  faded. Very minor wood chips on the scabbard.

For a similar knife, see Albert G van Zonneveld “Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago”, page 74, Fig 287.