Question On Odd Barong

[kai]

Hello Robert,

That was what I was thinking after looking at the one in Lorenz post (picture above) showing the same protrusions at the base of the blade and the museum tag saying Mindanao.

The museum tag says "Armas de los Moros de Jolo y Mindanao, Filipinas" - with Jolo being the seat of power of the Sulu sultanate, this basically boils down to that some museum curator thinks the displayed pieces are of Moro origin and, thus, originated from Sulu or Mindanao (probably not based on detailed research on this sword). One would need to delve into the original museum records (if extant) as well as try researching the family history of the donator including military records (if extant) to possibly be able to propose a likely origin of this sword.

Though the hilts are very different the overall style of the blade is the same.

The similarities are certainly interesting. However, given the notches in your example and the engraving of the other example, I'd hesitate to positively declare even the blades to be of the same origin.

Regards,
Kai