Ilocano Wavy Bladed Sword
 

Greetings folks!

Here is a wavy bladed Ilocano bolo. The blade is mono steel and its tang goes through the hilt with a silver round nut at the end.

The hilt is in two pieces, both well and intricately carved in floral designs. At the place where the two pieces meet and at the base of the blade are rings of silver. Along the top and bottom of the hilt are strips of plain silver (I repaired some of it ) which goes around the entire hilt. Bronze that was once silvered is what makes the guard.

There is a scabbard/sheath that is made of pierced thick leather (broken with a missing section) that has bronze for top and bottom chapes. Something was held in place in the middle of the top chape, but I don't know what it was (a triangle, 3 stars, and a sun face?).

Any help and comment would be helpful and enjoy!

:eek: WOW :eek: You sure can find some purdy stuff !!! The beautiful carving on the hilt and a pierced leather scabbard make this one of the best pieces I have seen. Do you think that a piece of the scabbard is missing or could it be that the leather has just shrank to the point that the end popped off when the blade was pushed in with to much force? As for the missing item on the throat piece, I would guess that it was some type of frog attachment like a short pin with a ball end. You already have my address so just let me know when to expect its arrival. :D Congratulations on this wonderful addition to you collection.

Best,
Robert

Very nice piece Jose. Congratulations on a great find and for restoring it to its former glory. How many hours work on this one?

Is the blade cross section a diamond shape or triangular? I've seen both on Ilocano pieces.

Ian

Thank you both.

Robert - I'm sending to your house on a very, very, very, slow slug. It should get there in 20 years. :D Also I looked closely at the torn parts of the leather and they do not match, sadly. :( By the way, would you post a picture of the frog attachment to which you refer?

Ian - the cross section of the blade is diamond shaped. It took a few hours or so of work for cleaning, shaping the silver replacements, and making the silver nails.

I may get with an expert leather worker here in town for the scabbard - to stitch and re-enforce some places in the leather, and to make the missing section.

Jose, I'll be watching for that slug. In the meantime here is a photo of what a scabbard frog button looks like. All the ones that I have seen so far on Philippine swords have been the round variety similar to the one on the left shown here.

Best,
Robert

P.S.
Have you tried turning the scabbard tip over as it looks as if it could be positioned wrong in the above photos. :shrug:

Ahhhh ! What a wonderful piece !! All is perfect, the carved hilt with silver, the sheath, the wavy blade ...
congratulations with this adquisition, one of the best i have ever seen !
Thanks
carlos

The bolo byself is already one of the best pieces I have seen so far but the pierced leather scabbard, wow! :eek: Hope you can get this restored.

Great addition to your collection, I am green with envy! :)

Regards,
Detlef

Beautiful piece, Jose. The complexity of the carving and silverwork on the grip, to say nothing of the leatherwork, are fantastic. It's in the right hands!

Thank you folks. I was pleased to find this on ePrey a while back.

Thank you Robert for the pictures - makes sense. Not sure how I can pull it off however without damaging the chape. :shrug: