Kotak taji' is Balinese for a box in which spores used during cockfighting are ceremonially preserved and passed on to the next generation. Twenty-five years of painstaking collecting has resulted in a fantastic and exciting accumulation of over 540 chests from the Indonesian archipelago, mostly from the exotic islands of Bali and Lombok, but also from Sulawesi and Kalimantan. The creation of these unique, exquisite pieces of craftsmanship carved from wood may soon become a forgotten tradition as cockfighting is banned by law throughout Indonesia, as is the case in almost every other part of the world is.

"Cockfights are among the greatest sources of entertainment for the Javanese; they would walk several hours to witness a fight, especially when the fighting rooster has acquired some fame. A circle of spectators closes itself around the fighting, whose spurs have been fitted with steel points, and whose fighting spirit has been enhanced in all possible ways. People gamble, applaud, mock, in one word, becomes highly spirited. It is unfortunate, however, that cockfights frequently end in man-fights, where the owner of the defeated avenges himself at the owner of the victor by a strike of his machete."

The steel spurs mentioned, when not in use, were often stored in special cases called kotak taji, literally "spur case" in Indonesian

Housed in a beautiful wooden case is a set of eleven steel cockspurs. The case has each side of wooden lid connected with brass hinges.

Each spur is edged, with a center ridgeline, and still very sharp. The steel gives away hints of being of laminated construction. Early 20th century.

Case dimensions:

Lenght: 19 cm 

Widht: 5 cm 

Spurs dimensions:

Not every spur is the same lengt. They are about 10 to 14 cm long

Will be carefully packaged and sent by registered mail via Postnl.