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."
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* Tropenmuseum > Zuidoost Azië
IJzer. Toba-Batak (volk), Noord-Sumatra, Indonesië.
1ste helft 20ste eeuw."
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