Sacred knife handle - Paiwan tribe

The sacred knife is one of the three treasures of the Paiwan tribe with the sacred pot and the beads. These items would only be owned by chiefs or nobilis people and were generally transmitted by ancestors through the centuries. Usually these sacred items would not be touched casually by non nobilis people and would only be shown during the special ceremony held every five years. “”The Paiwan today only know that the bronze knives were passed down from their ancestors and were sacred. Taiwan does not have the tin needed to make bronze and none of the aborigine tribes possessed bronze making technology, so some scholars believe the bronze knives originated in the Dongshan civilization of Vietnam because of their shape and material.””( Credit: Taiwan e-learning and digital archives progress). This sacred knife has lost its iron blade due to rust. Note that all sacred knives, due to their age, never have their original blade.

Reference

PA601

Dimensions

Length : 15.6 cms

Width : 10.6 cms

Period

few centuries

Source

Ancient Taiwanese collection- Taipei

Material

bronze

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It is therefore entirely normal for these items to show signs of wear, patina, cracks, old repairs, or other alterations related to their history and traditional use. By proceeding with the purchase, the buyer acknowledges having reviewed the condition of the item based on the unretouched photographs provided and accepts its specific characteristics linked to its age.
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