This item is an old sword from the Trobriand Islands. I collected this sword from Barclay Gallery in Mount Clemens, Michigan in 1987. The Gallery acquired it from an auction house in London. It was marked as from the Trobriand Islands, 19th Century. The sword was made by removing the head and rostrum ( extended jaw ) from a juvenile Sawfish. Although sawfish can grow very large with saws longer than 2 metres, the juvinile swords are the right size for use as a sword. The width of thid sword is very comfortable in a hand grip and the low inertia allows quick rotation and slashing motion with this strong and stiff tool. The teeth are designed for cutting as that is the function of the saw when the sawfish swims into a school of small fish. This sword is in remarkably good condition. A couple of the teeth are missing, but this is natural and not recent damage. I researched sawfish swords and found that many cultures including the Dayaks, Australian Aborigines and South Sea Islanders used similar swords.