Two Interesting Moro Barong/Barung

[CharlesS]

These two Moro barong were recently acquired from one of our members...thanks RSWORD!...They are both interesting in different ways. The top example is a lovely piece in its own right, with a flawless, beautifully carved pommel, and a relatively common blade type, but it is the scabbard here that drew my attention. I have never seen a scabbard carved throughout its non-rattan-covered length, in this case with unusual floral motifs. The carved has been tinted black to highlight it.
The second example is also of superb quality, with a lovely hilt and only the second lacquered scabbard I have seen with a Moro barong, but the real eye-catcher here is the blade! The massive blade is considerably larger and heavier than a typical barong blade(compare the two examples), with a huge "belly" atypical to most barongs, and a wide reinforced edge giving it the classification of a"shandigan" blade. The blade shows no pattern welding, but you can see the glassy smooth tempered edge and its width in the pics. The piece is just a "monster" of a weapon. The scabbard had to be heavily reinforced due to the weight of the blade, and is pegged together with almost a dozen pegs! The rattan was probably an afterthought to add additional reinforcement.