the quiet kid in the back of the class, Bangkung...
 

prolly the least talked about weapon in cato's book due to its scarcity, the bangkung. here's one that's even rarer, which is a variation: instead of having a straight spine, this one has a curve spine, and a shandigan blade to boot. scabbard is made out of two different type of wood; narra for the back, and banati up front, chased with an amazing presentation of okir on the throat. the two halves are tied in an unusual fashion. enjoy!

oh wow! The scabbard alone is beautiful! Imagine my reaction if I saw this sheathed and pulled out that wicked blade! Incredible find, Spunjer!

lol, yeah... a triple whammy, actually. the scabbard, which is an art to itself, then the curve blade, and finally a shandigan. i almost dropped it :D

What of the okir on the throat? Is it MOP? Turtle shell?

Beautiful bangkung, congrats! :)
What is the lenght of the blade? Do you plan to etch the blade?

Regards,

Detlef

it's bas-relief. then accentuated with lime to really stand out.

hi detlef,
blade is laminated, but not as pronounced. the blade itself is 18", and total length of the bangkung is 23".

Thank's!
:)

handsome!!!!!!!
 

Ron,

This is by far the prettiest bangkung I've ever seen.
Congrats with this great addition!
Besides the great okircarvings, I also love the hidden ratan bands in the scabbard.
That is also found sometimes on mandauscabbards.




Maurice

Yes, what a wonderful addition to your collection.:cool: Congratulations on such a rare find.

Robert

yes maurice, that's exactly what i was thinking about regarding the "hidden" rattan wrap style... thanks robert!

I was so impressed by the okir carvings when I saw the pictures. Congrats! :)

Here an image of the "hidden" rattan wrap style on a mandauscabbard of mine.

I agree and see more mandau elements in it like the scabbard end,the line in the blade and blade point and the raised centre of the scabbard all over.

Arjan

Congrats, Ron, that's one of the nicest I've seen so far of the shorter bangkung variant!

This looks very much like a piece from Palawan.

Regards,
Kai

that's my thought as well, kai. the form is similar to the barungs found in that area.

i wouldn't be surprise if this was inspired by a mandau, arjan. i saw a mandau once provenanced to a datu from sulu.

http://rbhayes.pastperfect-online.co...21520;type=101

Great Bangkung Spunjer, the okir work on the scabbard is especially nice.

When I saw this is, it reminded me of piece from Palawan that Ian posted:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...3&postcount=80

I'm curious about the cross section - is there a step or change in plane at the fuller?

t_c, i believe it's a similar type. btw, there is a step on the fuller..

Thanks Spunjer - I was asking about the fuller/cross-section because it is something I have seen on just a few blades (one of which I used to own). I was thinking this "step" to the back edge might be a specific to a region, but so far I really don't know... :shrug:

Old Bangkung/Bolo(?) with what I believe might be a similar cross section:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6271

How much you asking!? :D
That is one sword that just screams awesomeness! :eek:

Good point, t_c. But then again, between this one, your ex, ian's example, the one that was on ebay about a month ago, and another one that i sold a few months back, we could be looking at a whole new genre of moro weapon previuosly unknown.
Dimasalang: thanks, bro!

Thanks! thats interesting info!

Arjan

Good point about Palawan - I forgot about that.

Here is another bangkung for reference. The blade is fairly typical, but the hilt style, especially the pommel, is unique.

The scabbard is new and is based on a historical model.