Barong beauty

[David]

Originally Posted by Robert Coleman

Yes, a very nice barong. I especially like the hilt carving and the sheath. As far as etching goes, I'm with you as I don't think it a necessary thing to do. I do however love the look of shinny silver.

I have wondered for some time whether it is truly traditional to etch these blades or not. While it was certainly a tradition for Javanese keris i have seen many old photos of Moro kris and barong that do NOT have an etch or show pattern to the blade. Is this just a collector choice or can someone show us real evidence that this was common with old Moro tradition?