A Maranao Kris

Ian · 31st August 2016, 10:54 PM

Gorgeous kris Ron! Lovely blade and exquisite silver and gold hilt. Definitely a sword for a man of distinction. Congratulations on a great find.

I was wondering, looking at the blade, whether this sword might have started its existence to the south of the Philippines. The wide straight blade with deep fullers is unusual for a Moro piece. Also, the toe of the scabbard. Just reminds me of some that we have seen before that likely came from what is now N. Borneo/Malaysia. Just a thought.

Do you think the blade might be older than 19th C.? It would be unusually heavy for an earlier Moro piece.

Again, congrats on an excellent piece.

Ian

Rick · 1st September 2016, 12:01 AM

Oh my!!!

CharlesS · 1st September 2016, 12:03 AM

Great piece Ron. I love the crisp fullering and matching twistcore...so bold and consistent!

Great get! Congrats!

DaveS · 1st September 2016, 01:20 AM

Fantastic blade!!!!!!!!. About as good as it can get.......Dave.

kai · 1st September 2016, 01:43 AM

Congrats, Ron, another gorgeous catch - the blade and the hilt are amazing!

You mention that it is heavy: How does the blade feel when swinging it?

I don't think the blade is much older than the Phil.-Am. war period; this will - in addition to proper storage - also figure into the nice preservation...

I note that the clamp doesn't seem to be attached to the hilt; any ideas why the craftsmanship also looks a bit subpar?

While the horn buntut is a nice touch, the scabbard quality does not match this kris IMHO, especially considering the wood and carving/finish. It might be a replacement ordered for a battle pick-up. Any notable wear visible inside?

Regards,
Kai

kai · 1st September 2016, 01:52 AM

Hello Ian,

Quote:

I was wondering, looking at the blade, whether this sword might have started its existence to the south of the Philippines. The wide straight blade with deep fullers is unusual for a Moro piece. Also, the toe of the scabbard. Just reminds me of some that we have seen before that likely came from what is now N. Borneo/Malaysia. Just a thought.

I have yet to see any reasonably provenanced blades like this from Sabah or thereabouts.

However, there is a family of keris sundang blades from the Malay peninsula which shares quite a few of these features. IMVHO, this blade does not exhibit any clear Malay features while the base does seem consistent with a Moro and more specifically Maranao origin as already noted by Ron.

Regards,
Kai

Spunjer · 1st September 2016, 04:10 AM

thanks all! for once, Facebook was good for something in regards to acquiring this piece

Quote:

I was wondering, looking at the blade, whether this sword might have started its existence to the south of the Philippines. The wide straight blade with deep fullers is unusual for a Moro piece. Also, the toe of the scabbard. Just reminds me of some that we have seen before that likely came from what is now N. Borneo/Malaysia. Just a thought. Do you think the blade might be older than 19th C.? It would be unusually heavy for an earlier Moro piece.

i'm kinda thinking in the same line of thought, Ian, in regards to having some influence from farther south. a possibility would be whoever originally owned this was a transplant, or has traveled extensively down south. enough anyways to influence the style of the blade.
as far as age, i'm with Kai that the blade was most likely made around late 19th century, but of course, we can never know for sure.

Quote:

You mention that it is heavy: How does the blade feel when swinging it?

it's balance, if that's what you want to know, but you could definitely feel some heft to it.

Quote:

I note that the clamp doesn't seem to be attached to the hilt; any ideas why the craftsmanship also looks a bit subpar?

it's an optical illusion. the clamp was made to look like it's not connected. my thinking is, it was made that way so it won't look sloppy had it been wrapped with a strip of metal and tucked inside the handle. instead, what the panday did was soldered an L-shaped bracket under the clamp and slid it under the handle. slick, huh? notice the space under the clamp...

as far as the scabbard. i highly doubt this was a battle field pick up, given the condition it's in. i think it's just one of those Moro weapon idiosyncrasy: there's that one part in the whole ensemble that does not jive. the whole focus on this particular kris is on the handle and blade, so to show it off, it has to be out of the scabbard...

drac2k · 1st September 2016, 04:44 AM

So did the Genie give you one wish or do you have another one as well ?
There is nothing that I can say that hasn't been said except thanks for sharing that magnificent sword with us !

mariusgmioc · 1st September 2016, 06:39 AM

Thank you for this magnificent example!

asomotif · 1st September 2016, 11:51 AM

Lovely example. how was the hilt when you bought it ? did you clean it ?

Bestregards,
Willem

kino · 1st September 2016, 02:10 PM

Nice catch, homie.
I like it that you've polished the hilt. It really stands out. Just wondering, does it have a pinkish/reddish hue to the silver?
Congrats.

31st August 2016, 10:54 PM	#1
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,397	Gorgeous kris Ron! Lovely blade and exquisite silver and gold hilt. Definitely a sword for a man of distinction. Congratulations on a great find. I was wondering, looking at the blade, whether this sword might have started its existence to the south of the Philippines. The wide straight blade with deep fullers is unusual for a Moro piece. Also, the toe of the scabbard. Just reminds me of some that we have seen before that likely came from what is now N. Borneo/Malaysia. Just a thought. Do you think the blade might be older than 19th C.? It would be unusually heavy for an earlier Moro piece. Again, congrats on an excellent piece. Ian

1st September 2016, 12:01 AM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,339	Oh my!!!

1st September 2016, 12:03 AM	#3
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,854	Great piece Ron. I love the crisp fullering and matching twistcore...so bold and consistent! Great get! Congrats!

1st September 2016, 01:20 AM	#4
DaveS Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 327	Fantastic blade!!!!!!!!. About as good as it can get.......Dave.

1st September 2016, 01:43 AM	#5
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,255	Congrats, Ron, another gorgeous catch - the blade and the hilt are amazing! You mention that it is heavy: How does the blade feel when swinging it? I don't think the blade is much older than the Phil.-Am. war period; this will - in addition to proper storage - also figure into the nice preservation... I note that the clamp doesn't seem to be attached to the hilt; any ideas why the craftsmanship also looks a bit subpar? While the horn buntut is a nice touch, the scabbard quality does not match this kris IMHO, especially considering the wood and carving/finish. It might be a replacement ordered for a battle pick-up. Any notable wear visible inside? Regards, Kai

1st September 2016, 04:44 AM	#8
drac2k Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,258	So did the Genie give you one wish or do you have another one as well ? There is nothing that I can say that hasn't been said except thanks for sharing that magnificent sword with us !

1st September 2016, 06:39 AM	#9
mariusgmioc Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Austria Posts: 1,911	Thank you for this magnificent example!

1st September 2016, 11:51 AM	#10
asomotif Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,235	Lovely example. how was the hilt when you bought it ? did you clean it ? Bestregards, Willem

1st September 2016, 02:10 PM	#11
kino Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,018	Nice catch, homie. I like it that you've polished the hilt. It really stands out. Just wondering, does it have a pinkish/reddish hue to the silver? Congrats.