Tale of two Krises

[Spunjer]

here are two krises. similar, but yet so different. i thought they were both Sulu, but i'm leaning more towards Maguindanao on Goldilocks here. the blade has etchings on both side using lost-wax process, reminiscent of style that is prevalent with the Lumad tribes. i would assume that whoever had this done are quite familiar with the Bagobo/T'boli sudeng, or swords. it must have been an inspiration. The brass handle is another clue. when i first got it, the whole blade was covered with old cosmoline, dark green and dingy looking. i decided to remove it, and along the process, i ended up shining the asang-asang. so i said what the heck, and went to town blinging up the handle.

The second kris is classic Sulu. silver pommel with silver rings interspersed with braided silver wire. the blade has that ever so slight taper towards the tip, and as a comparison with the maguindanao piece, a bit shorter. the collar (closest to the pommel) was missing, and was instead repaired with local jute. not knowing how the collar looked like originally, i'm happy to leave it as it is. the pommel was black when i first got it, not sure if it was silver at first, although i was certain that it has to be silver. the blade has active red rust running along the ridge. this was removed right away. another common Sulu blade trait, the skunk stripe lamination, appeared. you could barely see it, but it's there.

comparing both pommels, they appear to be similar, in that they are both cone-shape, but looking closely, you will notice that the Sulu is more circular, while the Maguindanao has a more oval-ish shape and has flat edges on the front and back.

enjoy!

[Battara]

Nice and interesting pieces. I might agree with the possible Lumad associations for the etched one.

What might add to the Lumad mix is the color of the hilt metal - looks either brass or nickel-silver. More a Lumad material.

[Ian]

Thanks for showing these two kris. The differences between Sulu and Maguindanao can be tricky sometimes and I think you are right about the heavier blade probably being Maguindanao in origin (even though the "eagle beak" on the blade might suggest Sulu, at least according to Cato).

I wonder whether the brass on the pommel of the Maguindanao kris might actually be covering a more traditional wooden horse-hoof pommel with its octagonal facets. There is a hint of some other straight sides on the brass pommel rim that might reflect an underlying octagonal shape.

The method of attaching the metal cladding of the pommel is identical in each case: the metal from the handle piece is folded over the plate that caps the end of the hilt. This is an unusual configuration in my experience but Jose has more expertise and might be able to comment on this technique and how commonly he has seen it. In any case, the hilts are very similar in construction (apart from the metals) and seem to have come from the same craftsman.

The heavier blade, with its extensive etching, is certainly odd and I agree it suggests a non-Moro origin. You mention a "lost wax" method but I'm not familiar with that technique for etching--I've seen it used for cast metal pieces, such as the T'boli and Bagobo hits.

Very interesting pair and nicely restored.

Ian.

[Spunjer]

as i've mentioned on my original post, jose, the handle (pommel and rings) is brass, hence my assumption about this particular piece as being Maguindanao in origin, being their close proximity with the T'boli. it wouldn't surprise me if the panday was T'boli himself

another thing i forgot to mention are the geometric pattern on the blade. very similar to the design found on T'boli kefilans and toks...

[Spunjer]

thanks for your input, Ian.
as far as the pommel on the brass kris: i can see why you think it's faceted, and i think you're right. you could barely see it on the first picture. looking at the kris again, i can feel the facets.

regarding the eagle beak: if you notice, it looks "cruder" than the Sulu blade. i have a feeling it was chiseled out as an after thought. The Sulu appears to be more of a part of the process in making the blade...

[Battara]

Oh I guess I missed that in your initial post......

Anyway the method used on the blade is not lost wax but wax etch (just for clarification)

Also the ron do (no direct relation to you, Ron ) seems to be in Maguindanao style, although I do agree with you on the blade etching does seem to resemble the T'boli pattern.

[Sajen]

Hello Ron,

thank you for sharing this both nice kris with us. Special the wax etched blade is very interesting, never seen something similar before.

Regards,
Detlef