Subject: warrior chief

Culture: Batak

Setting: Dutch war, northern Sumatra late 19thc

Object: piso knife

American Museum of Natural History > Mead Hall of Pacific Peoples *

* Dallas Museum of Art > Pacific Islands

"Pair of knives and sheath (piso) Indonesia: North Sumatra,

Batak people c. 1860-1900 Bronze and steel ... Among the Batak,

the traditional marriage gifts from a husband's lineage to his wife's family

included a pair of knives in a single sheath or scabbard. The use of male and

female figures on the handles suggests that this pair was a ceremonial wedding gift;

the handles represented the man and woman united in marriage."

Tropenmuseum > Zuidoost Azië *

"Zwaard met voorouderfiguren IJzer. Toba-Batak (volk), Noord-Sumatra, Indonesië. 1ste helft 20ste eeuw."

"Sword with ancestor figures Iron. Toba Batak (people), North Sumatra, Indonesië .[sic] 1st half 20th century." ...