Balinese Ceremonial Knife

The “Tiuk Pengentas” is a knife used during funeral ceremonies. Most Balinese believe in reincarnation and when a deceased person is cremated, they will first be carried out in public with a large procession. Then the priest cuts the deceased's cloth cord from the body with the "Tiuk Pengentas", which amounts to cutting the person off from earthly life, both physically and mentally. The term "wedung" is often used for these ceremonial knives, but "wedung" is a Javanese term, used for a Javanese ceremonial knife. The term “Tiuk Pengentas” is from Bahasa Balinese and comes specifically from Buleleng and Singaraja. This example: One of the finest examples of its kind, complete with scabbard. The knife has a wooden handle, richly carved with a “Garuda” mask and foliage. It was mounted on a brass ferrule which was attached to the blade with resin. The blade is very thick and has a straight back inlaid with brass. The upper back features a very high quality chiseled bronze “Naga”. The unique, tapered cutting edge is curved and ends in a pointed tip. The blade has a single fuller on the front side of the blade which descends from the fort towards the tip. The scabbard is made of two slabs of red lacquered wood which feature a fine, meticulously hand-carved pattern of flower petals and foliage motifs. The scabbard shows traces of gilding and has tiger stripes depicted on the front, which show an impressive series of black lacquer and gold. Balinese scabbards tend to be oversized and are, like keris, often much longer than the actual blade. The back of the scabbard is decorated with stenciled floral designs.

Condition: Very good condition, the scabbard has a small chip near the top and two brass inlays are missing. Including the scabbard. Dimensions: Handle length: 17.6 cm Blade length: 24 cm Blade back thickness: 8 mm Sheath length: 49.4 cm Total length: 63.4 cm