Resource Spotlight | “Steel and Magic: Edged Weapons of the Malay Archipelago”
ABOUT THIS BOOK
This catalogue presents the exhibition “Stahl und Zauber – Steel and Magic”, shown from December 2019 to August 2020 at Deutsches Klingenmuseum Solingen, the German Blade Museum. For the most part the exhibited objects were loans from the International Foundation of Indonesian Culture and Asian Heritage (IFICAH, located in Hollenstedt near Hamburg/ Germany), from Michael Marlow (private collector, Sweden), Dr Udo Kloubert (private collector, Germany), and Ginunting AB (Sweden). Further pieces belong to Deutsches Klingenmuseum itself (many of them acquired for the exhibition with the support of Stiftung Wolfgang Wüsthof, Solingen), and one piece was kindly loaned to us, including the associated catalogue text, by Peter Dekker (Mandarin Mansion, Amsterdam).
“Stahl und Zauber” presented the weapons from various perspectives. Based on the exhibition, the book at hand does not intend to be a complete encyclopedia of all types of edged weapons from the Malay Archipelago. Instead, the reader should consider it as their own makara: just like this mythical beast carries the Hindu gods to their destinations, the book shall be a vessel into a distant, bygone world. The short articles collected here are more than just descriptions of the weapons’ physical appearance and condition. They tell of a colorful, often turbulent, and sometimes violent history surrounding the techniques of blade making and the martial arts.
The multi-layered religious history of the Malay Archipelago is directly reflected in its edged weapons, and needs to be taken into consideration if one wants to understand their symbolic meaning. As such, a recurring theme is the objects’ magical and religious dimensions: Hindu gods and demons are depicted on blades and hilts, and carvings of legendary beasts speak of the mythology behind the practice of head-hunting. Inscribed sacred symbols and numerological talismans from the Islamic tradition promise victory for the wielder, while individual pamor patterns are supposed to bring luck, wealth, or popularity. These backgrounds, the ritual contexts in which the weapons were used, and the belief systems that surrounded them are explained.
On a specialist level, the catalogue aims to be a companion for collectors, museum curators, and academics alike. It delves deeply into the blade traditions of the Archipelago and their cultural context, and clarifies some common misunderstandings. The information presented here is gathered from otherwise scattered sources, and pursues a multi-facetted analysis and interpretation of the depicted pieces. The selection furthermore highlights blade types that have received less attention in the literature than the much-discussed keris.
The three main authors, Dr Achim G. Weihrauch, Michael Marlow, and Dr Udo Kloubert, were perfectly suited to write a catalogue of this scope. They possess, alongside years spent in the Malay Archipelago, decades of experience as collectors, academic degrees in ethnology and comparative religion, and expert practical knowledge of both blade making and Southeast Asian martial arts.
This passage derives from “Steel and Magic: Edged Weapons of the Malay Archipelago” — pg. 12.
Click the image below to watch a brief tour of the "Steel and Magic: Edged Weapons of the Malay Archipelago" exhibition at Deutsches Klingenmuseum Solingen.
All images courtesy of Deutsches Klingenmuseum Solingen.
Art of the Ancestors expresses gratitude to Sixt Wexler, Michael Marlow, Andre Schmidt and his team at Büro Schmidt.
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. Art of the Ancestors does not receive a commission should any of our readers purchase the aforementioned book. Art of the Ancestors is a strictly non-commercial educational platform and has no vested interest in the professional activities of the authors listed above.