Very nice Moro dagger for comment!!!

zelbone · 2nd September 2005, 10:20 PM

Hey philkid!
That gunong looks very familiar. Did you happen to pick it up in Aldevinco in Davao? I saw one there in May with an ivory hilt for sale by a Maranao merchant. The proprietor wasn't there, so his son quoted me a ridiculously low price which I quickly agreed to. However, since the hilt was ivory I was a bit paranoid of the CITES ban on ivory. I wanted to get a bill of sale and a letter from the proprietor stating that the gunong was an antique so that if I had a problem with US customs, I had some documentation. Unfortunately for me, when the proprietor came back to the shop to write the letter, he quoted me a more realistic price and yelled at his son for offering it to me at a steal. I wasn't upset, and both the proprietor and I had a laugh at his son's expense. It was a quality antique gunong and both of us knew it. If that is the same gunong I almost purchased, then you definately got a quality old example. Nice find!

ZEL

Bill · 3rd September 2005, 02:54 AM

Very nice, wish we had better knowledge of when pieces like this were made. By the 40's, I think they can be confirmed by providence. Yours looks early. 1910-30's?

philkid · 3rd September 2005, 03:16 AM

Hi Zelbone, yes this was the one that was sold in aldevinco. The one you met was not the owner of this dagger. It was only consigned to him. How much did they quote you for this piece?

2nd September 2005, 10:20 PM	#1
zelbone Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: VISAYAS and MINDANAO Posts: 169	Hey philkid! That gunong looks very familiar. Did you happen to pick it up in Aldevinco in Davao? I saw one there in May with an ivory hilt for sale by a Maranao merchant. The proprietor wasn't there, so his son quoted me a ridiculously low price which I quickly agreed to. However, since the hilt was ivory I was a bit paranoid of the CITES ban on ivory. I wanted to get a bill of sale and a letter from the proprietor stating that the gunong was an antique so that if I had a problem with US customs, I had some documentation. Unfortunately for me, when the proprietor came back to the shop to write the letter, he quoted me a more realistic price and yelled at his son for offering it to me at a steal. I wasn't upset, and both the proprietor and I had a laugh at his son's expense. It was a quality antique gunong and both of us knew it. If that is the same gunong I almost purchased, then you definately got a quality old example. Nice find! ZEL

3rd September 2005, 02:54 AM	#2
Bill Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Chicago area Posts: 327	Very nice, wish we had better knowledge of when pieces like this were made. By the 40's, I think they can be confirmed by providence. Yours looks early. 1910-30's?

3rd September 2005, 03:16 AM	#3
philkid Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Philippines Posts: 52	Hi Zelbone, yes this was the one that was sold in aldevinco. The one you met was not the owner of this dagger. It was only consigned to him. How much did they quote you for this piece?