D&L's Barungs with Ivory Ball's
 

Dave has requested that I post photos of these Barungs.
I have dibs on the smaller one :D

First time I have seen anything like this on a barong. For sure these are datu pieces, but this form is new to me. Thanks for posting this for our documentation! :D

Nice barung

CUE BALLS USED TO BE MADE OF IVORY AND WERE USED FOR VARIOUS THINGS CANE TOPS FOR INSTANCE. BUT I SUSPECT THESE ARE TOO SMALL TO BE CUE BALLS. INTERESTING BARONGS IT WOULD NO DOUBT BE AN INTERESTING STORY HOW THEY CAME TOGETHER IN THIS FORM.

If I had to guess; I'd guess they were not purpose built for the swords . :shrug:

Ivory is a valuable commodity/sign of wealth regardless of form .

On the smaller one of the two, is that a cartouche of some sort stamped into the blade? It kind of looks Chinese to me or is it just my poor eyesight playing tricks on me again? Either way these are two very beautiful and interesting barongs.

Robert

Robert: Iv'e been told that the chinese marked their ingots of trade iron in
this way. I know that the moros often obtained some of their iron through
trading. I have another sword somewhere with this same mark, but i can't
remember if it is on a kris or barong..........Dave.

I believe there were also Chinese smiths amongst the Moros and that many Guangdong/Fujian-descent Chinese settled in amongst the Moros (and other Filipinos as well) and intermixed.

I could be wrong but I vaguely remember some connection between Chinese smiths and Ankun barong? :shrug:

Hello Dave & Lonna,

Thanks for posting these great pieces! Workmanship looks genuine Moro to me. These pommels are somewhat reminiscent of the bulbous pommel style seen in some Moro kris. However, there are differences in details and I wouldn't go so far to suggest a common ethnic/tribal origin for both hilt types.

And, yes, chinese marks are quite commonly found on genuine Moro pieces, especially on barung blades. Vinny is correct that these were acquired through trade or from local expat Chinese smiths who obviously had a good reputation among the Moro.

BTW, did you obtain these barung together or did they came from unrelated sources? Please share dimensions - thanks!

Regards,
Kai

Kai is 100% correct and blades with Chinese marks were even sought after.

Please more info on these.

Kai and Jose: Both these barongs were obtained from the same person, but
about seven years apart. I don't know where he got them. Both blades are
heavy, both are a quarter inch thick at their base. The smaller of the two is
12 and three-quarters long. The larger barong is 17 inches long. The ivory
balls on each are about 2 inches in diameter. Total length of ferrule on the
smaller barong is 3 an one-half inches, the bigger, 4 and one-half inches.
Dave.

These were auctioned yesterday. Are there any more example with these types of pommels?