Sassak cleaver
length: 16"
Single edged cleaver style chopper from Lombok Island, Indonesia. Found in a Sassak village, east Lombok. Nifty laminated blade with external engraving on both sides and the spine. Was possibly painted red at some point? (that's not rust in the closeup pictures). Tool? Weapon?
This isn't really a whatsit, since I know of its origins - but I wonder
about it's purpose. The photographs were taken and description written after
I thought this beauty was something else (Bagobo?) and posted a picture in a
discussion at the Ethnographic
Edged Weapons Forum. The followup pictures and the entry in my web
pages here are for the
elucidation/education of fellow collectors.
blade: 11 1/4"
blade width: 2 3/16" max
grip: 4"
weight: 1 lb 3 oz