Phillipines knife?
 

This auction have finished. What´s your opinion about this knife?. I think is from Phillipines, a spanish colonial knife. I have seen several knifes and swords with this type of hilt, a human figure normally.
Thanks !!!
http://cgi.ebay.es/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...MEWN%3AIT&rd=1

Hi Carlos

I saw it one last week very nice little knife but I would say it is probably WW2 vintage the ferrule seems thick and made of one piece which I have been told in past threads signifies manufacture around WW2 or after.


Lew

Nice Philippine knife
 

Carlos:

Very nice knife. It is from Luzon and in a Spanish colonial style.

The Spanish influence can be seen, I think, in the shape of the blade, the treatment at forte, the offset tang which is displaced towards the back of the blade rather than centered, and the use of "dots" inlaid into the decorative brass work on the hilt.

Figural hilts like this are seen mostly on northern Luzon knives. In the native context, such figures are bullul or local deities, but on Spanish style pieces they are often women's heads.

Putting this together, I think you have a Spanish-style knife from northern Luzon, perhaps from Baguio or the Ilocos region where Spanish influence was considerable. Dating is difficult -- it could be late 19th C. but I doubt it is as early as 1870 (that seems hyperbole on the part of the seller!). As Lew points out there are elements to suggest a later origin. Early to mid-20th C. seems much more likely. Knives with similar figural hilts are still being made, although they are not common.

Regards,

Ian.