A Very Nice Dagger

Battara · 23rd October 2010, 10:08 PM

Although the blade doesn't, the rest of it looks Luzono, perhaps first republic Philippines, perhaps belonging to an officer. Which auction? I missed that one.

Robert · 23rd October 2010, 10:42 PM

Gene,
It does have a nice mix of styles doesn't it. That's one of the things that I thought interesting about it.
Jose,
The blade is a bit of an odd bird but I do have another Philippine dagger and a sword with similar blade styles. I will post a picture of the dagger below as I would like to find a little more information on it also as it looks to be of Visayans construction instead of Luzon. I was wondering about the sun on the scabbard of this dagger not being inside a triangle as most that I have seen have been? As far as age, I was thinking 1895-1900? What would be you thoughts on this?

Robert

Battara · 24th October 2010, 07:21 AM

After thinking about it a little more, I would guess that it were perhaps 1895-1897. I say this because the Malaysian sun was used by some Katipunan groups.

If it were inside the triangle and had 3 stars, it would be during the 1st republic (1898-1901).

The last one I would agree looks somewhat Visayan.

Robert · 24th October 2010, 07:39 AM

Thank you for your thoughts on the dating Jose. Now, if only it were only possible to identify who it might have belonged to by the initials I would be ecstatic.

Robert

Ferguson · 24th October 2010, 02:07 PM

Robert, that's beautiful.
It would be great if we could find somewhere a comprehensive listing of Katipunan officers.

Steve

Robert · 24th October 2010, 05:11 PM

Thank you Steve. Yes it would be great to have a comprehensive listing of Katipunan officers but I'm not sure one exist. If it does I am sure that Jose, Migueldiaz, Dimasalang or possibly others on the forum would know about it.

Robert

Dimasalang · 24th October 2010, 08:13 PM

Very nice dagger! Definitely of the Katipunan to Phil-Am War era, but still difficult to place. Going by flags, to me looks like it is from either the Tejeros Convention or the 1st Republic. The sunface is a old design for sure, BUT one with "8" rays is more widely used from the Tejeros Convention flag and the 1st Republic Flag. Aguinaldo and his Magdalo Katipunan group of the Revolution are more associated to the 8 sun ray flag(no face)...the rival Magdiwang group had 16 rays(no face). The face did not appear on any flag until the Tejeros Convention(March 22, 1897). The kicker is there exist a Katipunan medallion that belonged to Bonifacio, and it also has a sunface with 8 rays....but these early sunface symbols(on flags, stamps, blades, medals, etc...) are extremely rare of the earlier Bonifacio Katipunan days(1892-1896).

But for this dagger I would lean more towards the Tejeros Convention and 1st Republic...simply because these nicer custom made daggers were more common of that time frame, and not so much from the earlier Katipunan days.

I actually looked at my own list of officers I made. Only two names stand out of officers.
Francisco Gamboa
Faustino Guillermo

Gamboa was a renegade 1st Republic soldier of Albay who lasted out in the field a few years after the Phil-Am War...in 1905 he was gun down by the PC. Guillermo is actually well known by historians who study the early era. Guillermo was an original Katipunan member who ran with Bonifacio...and later joined the 1st Republic as a Captain. And later after the Phil-Am War, he ran as a labeled outlaw/bandit leader under Gen San Miguel. US Military report Guillermo as second or third in command with his own force of 300-500 men. He was captured a few months after San Miguels death in 1903. Guillermo was tried and hanged in 1904. He is considered an unsung hero.

23rd October 2010, 10:42 PM	#2
Robert EAAF Staff Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Centerville, Kansas Posts: 2,196	Gene, It does have a nice mix of styles doesn't it. That's one of the things that I thought interesting about it. Jose, The blade is a bit of an odd bird but I do have another Philippine dagger and a sword with similar blade styles. I will post a picture of the dagger below as I would like to find a little more information on it also as it looks to be of Visayans construction instead of Luzon. I was wondering about the sun on the scabbard of this dagger not being inside a triangle as most that I have seen have been? As far as age, I was thinking 1895-1900? What would be you thoughts on this? Robert Attached Images

24th October 2010, 07:39 AM	#4
Robert EAAF Staff Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Centerville, Kansas Posts: 2,196	Thank you for your thoughts on the dating Jose. Now, if only it were only possible to identify who it might have belonged to by the initials I would be ecstatic. Robert Last edited by Robert Coleman; 24th October 2010 at 08:17 AM.

23rd October 2010, 10:08 PM	#1
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,272	Although the blade doesn't, the rest of it looks Luzono, perhaps first republic Philippines, perhaps belonging to an officer. Which auction? I missed that one.

24th October 2010, 07:21 AM	#3
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,272	After thinking about it a little more, I would guess that it were perhaps 1895-1897. I say this because the Malaysian sun was used by some Katipunan groups. If it were inside the triangle and had 3 stars, it would be during the 1st republic (1898-1901). The last one I would agree looks somewhat Visayan.

24th October 2010, 02:07 PM	#5
Ferguson Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kernersville, NC, USA Posts: 793	Robert, that's beautiful. It would be great if we could find somewhere a comprehensive listing of Katipunan officers. Steve

24th October 2010, 05:11 PM	#6
Robert EAAF Staff Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Centerville, Kansas Posts: 2,196	Thank you Steve. Yes it would be great to have a comprehensive listing of Katipunan officers but I'm not sure one exist. If it does I am sure that Jose, Migueldiaz, Dimasalang or possibly others on the forum would know about it. Robert

24th October 2010, 08:13 PM	#7
Dimasalang Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 264	Very nice dagger! Definitely of the Katipunan to Phil-Am War era, but still difficult to place. Going by flags, to me looks like it is from either the Tejeros Convention or the 1st Republic. The sunface is a old design for sure, BUT one with "8" rays is more widely used from the Tejeros Convention flag and the 1st Republic Flag. Aguinaldo and his Magdalo Katipunan group of the Revolution are more associated to the 8 sun ray flag(no face)...the rival Magdiwang group had 16 rays(no face). The face did not appear on any flag until the Tejeros Convention(March 22, 1897). The kicker is there exist a Katipunan medallion that belonged to Bonifacio, and it also has a sunface with 8 rays....but these early sunface symbols(on flags, stamps, blades, medals, etc...) are extremely rare of the earlier Bonifacio Katipunan days(1892-1896). But for this dagger I would lean more towards the Tejeros Convention and 1st Republic...simply because these nicer custom made daggers were more common of that time frame, and not so much from the earlier Katipunan days. I actually looked at my own list of officers I made. Only two names stand out of officers. Francisco Gamboa Faustino Guillermo Gamboa was a renegade 1st Republic soldier of Albay who lasted out in the field a few years after the Phil-Am War...in 1905 he was gun down by the PC. Guillermo is actually well known by historians who study the early era. Guillermo was an original Katipunan member who ran with Bonifacio...and later joined the 1st Republic as a Captain. And later after the Phil-Am War, he ran as a labeled outlaw/bandit leader under Gen San Miguel. US Military report Guillermo as second or third in command with his own force of 300-500 men. He was captured a few months after San Miguels death in 1903. Guillermo was tried and hanged in 1904. He is considered an unsung hero.