Well I guess it means it is growing to be a highly appreciated object (which is good), which also means fewer and fewer people can see, hold, and appreciate them as they get expensive (which is not so good). European, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and now Moro articfacts are getting expensive. Oftentimes African artifacts are not as much, and there is also less hype about them. A Fijian warclub will probably sell for more than a Zulu knobkerrie or an Iroquois ball-headed warclub.
So it has it's good and bad, the higher number of cheap antiques there are, the more people can appreciate them (but also more will "ruin" them). The more expensive these antiques are... then they are more likely to end up in museums or the large private collections of those who can afford them. That means they'll be appreciated and cared for... but means most people won't ever have the same pleasure. I don't know what's better... do you?
What's the point of keeping a nation's heritage in a display case (rather than in it's homeland), if the information isn't going to be shared? But of course, many people "abused" antiques, so that can be debatable.
Hopefully the original owner (Datu's family?) was more than compensated for the barong... but I doubt it
