The items presented in this section are not prestigious pieces from major collections or noble Indigenous families. Most were personally collected and acquired by us — we have lived in Taiwan for 26 years — in Paiwan or Rukai mountain villages. These objects bear the authentic marks of daily use: the wear of a Paiwan farmer’s knife that harvested millet for decades, or the scuffs of a drinking cup dropped hundreds of times during celebrations.
Browse through this section and discover everyday objects from Taiwan’s Indigenous tribes, mostly dating from the 1940s–1950s. We have reduced certain presentation costs, such as using non-studio photography, which allows us to offer this “field collection” at very reasonable prices.

Typical Rukai-style sword with a wooden handle inlaid , steel wire and nail heads. ,The straight blade is long, and the scabbard is flat .

Rukai tribe Sword

Typical Rukai-style sword with a wooden handle inlaid with steel wire and nail heads. The guard is made from a Chinese coin.

Rukai tribe Sword

Powder flask from the Paiwan tribe, made from a horn sealed at the base with a wooden plug. The lid is made of horn too and is set up inside by a bamboo tube which provide the exact amount of powder.

Paiwan Tribe Powder Flask

Powder flask from the Rukai tribe, made from a horn sealed at the base with a wooden plug. the body is carved on 2 sides and tint in red .

Rukai Tribe Powder Flask

Attayal tribe horn powder flask with a bamboo lid and no carving on it

Atayal tribe Powder Flask

Rukai tribe alarm bell showing a wooden handle shaped with a human face linked with a cylindrical bell .

Rukai tribe Alarm Bell

Atypical Sword from the Paiwan tribe blending Paiwan and Bunun styles

Paiwan tribe atypical Sword

Bamboo Mortar Carved with Foliage and Wrapped with a Rattan Braid, with Pestle – Pingpu Tribe

Betel Nut Mortar with Pestle- Pingpu Tribe

Betel Nut Mortar with Pestle – Atayal Tribe

Betel Nut Mortar with Pestle – Atayal Tribe

Utility and hunting knife from the Atayal tribe, northern Taiwan. The shape of the sheath is typical of Atayal design. Atayal tribes do not carve their knives or swords.

Knife from the Attayal tribe

Sword from the Paiwan tribe, carved with stylized standing human figures, a serpent, and three faces. The blade and handle are forged from a single piece of iron.

Paiwan tribe Sword

word from the Rukai tribe, painted in red, white, and black, engraved with serpent motifs and stylized human figures.

Rukai tribe Sword

This drinking cup from paiwan features two beautifully carved handles, each depicting an ancestor holding the drinking cup between his thighs. The center of the double cup is carved with four human faces and a decorative frieze. The entire piece is made of natural wood.

Double wooden cup from Paiwan tribe

wine double cup engraved with snakes on the handles and in the center of the cup, and with human faces on the containers. The whole piece is enhanced with red, black, white, and green paint.

Carved wooden cup for wine - Paiwan tribe

Wooden double cup for wine from Paiwan tribe without carving and paint.

Simple wooden cup for wine - Paiwan tribe

Eroded Paiwan tribe wooden cup for millet wine . Carved with human face and snake and paint.

Paiwan tribe eroded Wooden cup for Wine

Paiwan tribe wooden double cup for Millet wine carved and paint

Paiwan tribe Wooden cup for Wine

Very beautiful ceremonial sword from the Paiwan tribe, carved with full-length human figures and faces on the side.

Long and beautiful ceremonial sword – Paiwan tribe

Very long Paiwan ceremonial sword featuring a scabbard carved with a snake and three human faces.

Long ceremonial Sword – Paiwan tribe

This ceremonial Paiwan sword is carved with a wild boar and a snake running along the entire length of the wooden scabbard.

Ceremonial Paiwan tribe Sword

Simple Hunter Paiwan tribe knife , not carved, paint in red , the knife is done on one piece of steel with the handle . Taiwan Tribe

Paiwan Tribe Hunter knife

Paiwan tribe Hunter sword carved with snake at the front and 3 human faces at the side

Paiwan Sword from Hunter

Paiwan tribe sword painted and carved with snake and human face .

Painted Paiwan tribe Sword

This small sword is not carved but simply painted red. It likely belonged to a farmer.

Paiwan tribe Hunter Sword

Hunting sword from the Paiwan tribe, carved with a snake and a decorative frieze on the front, as well as a stylized standing figure, a human face, and a snake. The side of the scabbard is carved with two faces. The entire piece is painted in red, brown, white, black, and yellow. The paint was likely applied at a later time.

Paiwan tribe Hunter Sword

FC100-(3)

Paiwan tribe Hunter Sword