a very lukky kris

mrwizard · 16th June 2011, 10:08 PM

The addiction is becoming more and more serious... i just received my third kris

The 27 luk blade is 58cm (22.8'') long and has a seperate ganja. below the protective coating blade laminations that follow the luks are visible.
The asang-asang appear to be made from copper. The hilt sports several metal bands and quite complex cord bindings with two myterious wooden sticks on the sides.
The blackened scabbard on the other hand is made from very light wood and of very poor quality.

According to the seller this one has been in the previous owners family since the early twenties of last century.
The brownish tint comes from dried oil that covers all metal parts.

Next step would be cleaning the oil from the metal parts.

Best Regards,
Thilo

Atlantia · 16th June 2011, 10:13 PM

Beautiful Thilo.
Interesting that yours also has that 'blackened' coating on the scabbard like mine does.
Very nice piece.

mrwizard · 17th June 2011, 12:00 AM

Hello Gene,
Thanks, but the scabbard of your kris is of a completely different quality. Your scabbard is well carved, has a polished surface and appears to be of good wood. I would bet its original owner was proud to carry it around in public.
The scabbard of mine is of poor quality wood, roughly carved and no one would like to carry it in public.
My guess is that this scabbard was made to for the sole purpose of protecting the blade while it is carried into combat. The black coating being camouflage. If the scabbard was damaged or lost it would be no big loss.

btw. here is a picture of the hilt i forgot to attach in the first post. The pommel seems to be somewhat atypical to me. This cockatoo head has no crest.

Best Regards,
Thilo

Battara · 17th June 2011, 12:09 AM

The blade and hilt construction appear to be Maguindanao. You have a early 20c piece from the Maguindanao tribe on the west coast of Mindanao.

Interesting to see sticks instead of metal. Interesting pommel too.

mrwizard · 17th June 2011, 12:28 AM

Hello Jose,

Thanks for the classification.

Maguindanao and early 20th century was also my guess but i was unsure because of the pommel and the "chopsticks" on the hilt.
The wooden sticks seem to be purely decorative as the asang-asang are fastened by copper bands that go below the metal fittings of the hilt.
I vaguely remember having seen a similar construction with just one wooden stick on a barong but i cannot find the picture anymore.

Best Regards,
Thilo

Spunjer · 17th June 2011, 01:21 AM

unusual pommel indeed! the curly cue on the sides goes in the opposite direction. here's a similar pommel:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ight=moro+kris

tom hyle · 24th June 2011, 08:54 AM

The more I think about it I just keep coming back to the fact that these sticks create a similar cross-section to octagonal handles from the Visayan sea, from Sumatra. Such a handle is flat and wide compared to a typical Moro handle. It provides absolutely certain edge indexing to every finger at every time; no optionality or cosciousness about it, with a flat back that the thumb can rest on squarely. This hints at an influx or influence of one or more Visayan or otherwise martial arts influence. Can we date this feature at all? Is there a time span when it was popular?

tom hyle · 25th June 2011, 02:29 AM

The rounder Moro handles are more similar in this way to mainland SEA handles. Bubble, thoughts, bubble.......

ThePepperSkull · 26th June 2012, 09:18 AM

Does anyone else have a theory or info on the significance behind the matte black coating of the scabbard?

What is it made of? I am assuming the same kind of laquer that they used on hilt wrappings to make them black as well.

Sajen · 26th June 2012, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThePepperSkull

Does anyone else have a theory or info on the significance behind the matte black coating of the scabbard?

What is it made of? I am assuming the same kind of laquer that they used on hilt wrappings to make them black as well.

I know that the black coating in the front of Halmahera shields (salawaku) is from a burned plant-leaf which have a very similar appearance.

16th June 2011, 10:08 PM	#1
mrwizard Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Dortmund, Germany Posts: 102	a very lukky kris The addiction is becoming more and more serious... i just received my third kris The 27 luk blade is 58cm (22.8'') long and has a seperate ganja. below the protective coating blade laminations that follow the luks are visible. The asang-asang appear to be made from copper. The hilt sports several metal bands and quite complex cord bindings with two myterious wooden sticks on the sides. The blackened scabbard on the other hand is made from very light wood and of very poor quality. According to the seller this one has been in the previous owners family since the early twenties of last century. The brownish tint comes from dried oil that covers all metal parts. Next step would be cleaning the oil from the metal parts. Best Regards, Thilo Attached Images

17th June 2011, 12:00 AM	#3
mrwizard Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Dortmund, Germany Posts: 102	Hello Gene, Thanks, but the scabbard of your kris is of a completely different quality. Your scabbard is well carved, has a polished surface and appears to be of good wood. I would bet its original owner was proud to carry it around in public. The scabbard of mine is of poor quality wood, roughly carved and no one would like to carry it in public. My guess is that this scabbard was made to for the sole purpose of protecting the blade while it is carried into combat. The black coating being camouflage. If the scabbard was damaged or lost it would be no big loss. btw. here is a picture of the hilt i forgot to attach in the first post. The pommel seems to be somewhat atypical to me. This cockatoo head has no crest. Best Regards, Thilo Attached Images

16th June 2011, 10:13 PM	#2
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	Beautiful Thilo. Interesting that yours also has that 'blackened' coating on the scabbard like mine does. Very nice piece.

17th June 2011, 12:09 AM	#4
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,220	The blade and hilt construction appear to be Maguindanao. You have a early 20c piece from the Maguindanao tribe on the west coast of Mindanao. Interesting to see sticks instead of metal. Interesting pommel too.

17th June 2011, 12:28 AM	#5
mrwizard Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Dortmund, Germany Posts: 102	Hello Jose, Thanks for the classification. Maguindanao and early 20th century was also my guess but i was unsure because of the pommel and the "chopsticks" on the hilt. The wooden sticks seem to be purely decorative as the asang-asang are fastened by copper bands that go below the metal fittings of the hilt. I vaguely remember having seen a similar construction with just one wooden stick on a barong but i cannot find the picture anymore. Best Regards, Thilo

17th June 2011, 01:21 AM	#6
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	unusual pommel indeed! the curly cue on the sides goes in the opposite direction. here's a similar pommel: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ight=moro+kris

24th June 2011, 08:54 AM	#7
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	The more I think about it I just keep coming back to the fact that these sticks create a similar cross-section to octagonal handles from the Visayan sea, from Sumatra. Such a handle is flat and wide compared to a typical Moro handle. It provides absolutely certain edge indexing to every finger at every time; no optionality or cosciousness about it, with a flat back that the thumb can rest on squarely. This hints at an influx or influence of one or more Visayan or otherwise martial arts influence. Can we date this feature at all? Is there a time span when it was popular?

25th June 2011, 02:29 AM	#8
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	The rounder Moro handles are more similar in this way to mainland SEA handles. Bubble, thoughts, bubble.......

26th June 2012, 09:18 AM	#9
ThePepperSkull Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 338	Does anyone else have a theory or info on the significance behind the matte black coating of the scabbard? What is it made of? I am assuming the same kind of laquer that they used on hilt wrappings to make them black as well.