magindanao kris
 

Hi friends,

Been quite busy these past few weeks.

I purchased it from the US dealer/collector- as a gift to my father this christmas.

1) kindly confirm if it has the traits of a kris of Maguindaoan origin?

2) possible era/ age of this kris?

3) blade: are the parallel lines called ' lamination' on this blade? or twist core?

4) pommel: silver/ asang-asang: one is silver, the other one looks copper (pinkist color)?

Thank you in advance and kind regards

Yves

maguindanao kris
 

additional info:

Scabbard: tigerstripes bunti wood

Nice kris.
I don't think you have a twisted core, but there seems to be some activity in the center. I would try to etch the blade a little with a vinegar solution to see what you've got there. If it doesn't look pretty it is easy enough to polish it out.
If you have the means you might want to test the asang-asang that appears copper. If it hasn't tarnished over time as copper is prone to do it is possible that the asang is actually suassa. Especially possible if the pommel and the rfittings are silver since that would show that some of some wealth once owned this sword.
If this were mine i would do a little bit of oiling an polishing on that wood as well to help bring out the tiger stripe wood pattern. This piece could look much better with a little "spit and polish" before gifting it to dad. ;)

maguindanao kris
 

Hello Sir David,

Many many thanks for those pointers. will definitely etch the blade and polish the scabbard.

I've contacted the previous owner (since I have 2 more krisses + an Iranun kampilan on its way). Here's some more points as to its age: mid-late 18th century.

the asang-asang is not tarnished. hence, swassa.

a beautiful piece - and I'm sure it will make Dad's heart leap with joy.

Kindest regards,

Yves

Well, i would not say that lack of tarnish alone means their is gold content. I just suggested that it could indicate the metal was suassa. You would have to have it tested to be sure.
I suppose this kris could be mid-18th century, but i would tend to be a little more conservative than that. maybe early to mid-19th century. But it is pretty hard to be sure about such datings.
Love to see the kris again once to etch and clean. :)

Hello Yves,


That is a nice kris. As for age, it has none of the characteristics of an archaic form from the 18th C, and I would put it no earlier than mid-19th C, and most probably late 19th C. As David noted, the presence of suassa requires testing for gold content. The absence of patina means very little.


Ian

Concurred with the previous assessments on the blade. Although the abnormally large size of the pommel, plus the deviant taper-construction of the grip-space vs most samples may point to a Tugaya hilt.

MAGUINDANAOAN KRIS
 

Hello,

thanks for the info. a pawnshop appraiser came today and I had the pink asang-asang tested- it is swassa.

This confirms what the previous owner claimed.

Regards

Yves