[CharlesS]

Here are three interesting Moro krisses that have been cleaned up and restored. They are interesting for different reasons:

The first(from the top) looks to be Sulu with a beautifully patinated horse hoof pommel and interesting blade. I am more accustomed to seeing "sandwich" welds on Malay pieces but here is one a what is almost assuredly a Moro sword. Notice the slight changes in color of the metals. Also note the talismanic stars, all of which just happen to be in the upper portion of the steel. If you look closely at the stars they gleam and they seem to have a slight "coppery" hue. Wishful thinking makes me wonder if this is swassa. However, it could also be attributed to an alloy with copper content or even the etching process....only one way to be sure and that is testing. Has anyone seen swassa inlays of this type before...and are sure they are swassa???

The second one is a lovely piece and only a good polish and etch revealed a twistcore blade which was previously invisible. This is not my favorite type of twistcore as it is not such a clear contrast, but is clearly a complex core and is nicely highlighted by silver inlay.

The third one, I believe is from Maguindanao(please chime in Battara!) and is huge and heavy, easily the heaviest of the three. It has a rather crude steel baca-baca, almost in a more Malay style. The pommel here is interesting, but don't be fooled by the 'bling'. The silver is of very poor alloy quality, as is the ferrule. The okir is also a little crudish by Moro standards.

The scabbards are all new.

I'd love to get some input on the approximate dates of origin on these.

Also, does anyone have any additional info on the one with the silver pommel? Is the pommel a stylized version of something....where does it come from???


Thanks, as always, for any constructive input.