Description:

Sword "piso engkat", "eccat", "piso gading"
Indonesia, Sumatra North, Batak (Karo-Batak), 19th century
L. 52 cm
A fine example of an eccat or engkat, as it was commonly used by the Batak in North Sumatra as a prestige object and morning gift among the nobility. Originally feared weapons (derived from ancestors in Myanmar and Sukhothai), these long knives have increasingly become prestigious symbols of rank and wealth over the past few centuries. Single-edged backed blade, handle made of elephant ivory (gading), silver-mounted scabbard made of dark hardwood. While the blade - which is old and heavily patinated - has the usual formal features with a waist and elongated back point, the patinated ivory handle is unusual in that the depicted squatting figure has a lizard instead of the usual long hair (long hair symbolizes fertility). Lizards (or probably miniature crocodiles) and snakes explicitly embody the fertility of "Mother Earth" and indirectly the earth dragon naga pahoda, to whom the sacrifices were directed and who ensured the continued success of agriculture. The figure holds an utensil in its hand that can probably be interpreted as an offering bowl. The fact that the lizard is located where the long hair is located is a reference to the ancient hair and head cult. For example, it is known that the Naga in India only captured heads with long hair during headhunting, and that among the Bidayuh-Dayak, some men had the front of their heads shaved bald to make themselves less attractive as kajau (headhunting) victims. That hair symbolizes fertility is also evident in the biblical legend of Samson. Similar references could be continued endlessly; they are abundant in Celtic and Germanic mythical cycles. The base of the handle is a jagged tumpal base (stylized mountain motifs, symbolic interlocking of the world planes), which is repeated on the finely crafted silver ferrule. The silver-mounted scabbard with its ivory mouthpiece is of great elegance and lacks any further symbolic references, which cleverly draws the focus onto the handle composition.
From an old German private collection, collected since the 1950s - The EU sales licence for this lot is available - This lot cannot be exported out of the European Union

Messer "piso engkat", "eccat", "piso gading"
Indonesien, Sumatra Nord-, Batak (Karo-Batak), 19. Jh.
L. 52 cm
Schönes Exemplar eines eccat oder engkat, wie er bei den Batak in Nord-Sumatra als Prestigeobjekt und Morgengabe unter Adligen üblich war. Ursprünglich gefürchtete Waffen (herzuleiten von Vorfahren aus Myanmar und der Sukhothai), wurden diese Langmesser in den letzten Jahrhunderten zunehmend zu prestigehaltigen Symbolen von Rang und Reichtum. Einschneidige Rückenklinge, Griff aus Elefanten-Elfenbein (gading), silberbeschlagene Scheide aus dunklem Hartholz. Während die Klinge - sie ist alt und stark patiniert - die üblichen Formmerkmale mit Taille und langgezogener Rückenspitze hat, ist der Griff aus patiniertem Elfenbein insofern ungewöhnlich, als die dargestellte Hockfigur anstatt der üblichen Langhaarfrisur (lange Haare verkörpern Fruchtbarkeit) eine Echse trägt. Echsen (Eidechsen oder wahrscheinlich verkleinerte Krokodile) und Schlangen verkörpern explizit die Fruchtbarkeit der „Mutter Erde“ bzw. indirekt den Erddrachen naga pahoda, an die sich die Opfer richteten und die das Weiterbestehen des landwirtschaftlichen Erfolgs gewährleisteten. Die Figur hält ein Utensil in der Hand, das wohl als Opferschale zu interpretieren ist.
Dass die Echse sich an der Stelle der langen Haare befindet, ist als Verweis auf den althergebrachten Haar- bzw. Kopfkult zu verstehen. Man weiß zum Beispiel von den Naga in Indien, dass bei der Kopfjagd nur Häupter mit langen Haaren erbeutet wurden und dass bei den Bidayuh- Dayak sich einige Männer den Vorderkopf kahlscheren ließen, um als kajau-(Kopfjagd-) Opfer weniger attraktiv zu sein. Dass die Haare Fruchtbarkeit versinnbildlichen, ist auch der biblischen Simson-Legende zu entnehmen. Ähnliche Verwe

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October 1, 2025 10:00 AM CEST
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