1735 Bicol ba'id chopper

Battara · 25th May 2014, 03:48 AM

Now here is the piece after my restorations. I based these on what was already there, and on the pin holes present and where they were placed.

I did the silver mounts in sterling silver sheet, and had to make roughly 34 silver nails by hand. After that, I saw evidence of lamination, so I etched it and found it as well as being surprised by a core.

Battara · 25th May 2014, 03:50 AM

Finally here are some close ups of the blade:

Sajen · 25th May 2014, 09:34 AM

Wow, what a beautiful chopper!

And the age!

Never have seen such a beautiful piece. Are there other documented choppers like this? For which use have been such a nice piece; pure representation?

Jose, you really need a new camera!

Best regards,
Detlef

Robert · 25th May 2014, 04:08 PM

Jose, What a rare and wonderful find !!! I have never seen another exactly like this before though I have seen one other Philippine chopper with the exact same blade shape only minus the fullers but it was fitted with a much planer hilt. Excellent restoration work as usual. I do see that the small retaining plate where the tang extends through the hilt is still missing. Do you think that it would have been made of silver to match the rest of the more decorative bits, or possibly steel or brass for more strength? Could you possibly post the dimensions of this piece for future reference. My sincere congratulations to you on not only having the good fortune in finding such a rare piece, but also on the great restoration work that you have done to preserve it for later generations to admire.

Best,
Robert

manteris1 · 25th May 2014, 04:22 PM

well done.......................jimmy

David · 25th May 2014, 05:00 PM

That is a seriously beautiful thing José.
Any thoughts on who engraved the date or why? Seems likely it would have been a European hand, especially with the addition of "AD", which i assume is "Anno Domini" (though i suppose it could be someone's initials). If this is a date of collection i suppose the piece might even be a little older.

Battara · 26th May 2014, 02:36 AM

The dimensions are from ears to the end of the blade is roughly 11 inches and the width of the blade at the front where the crescent is measures roughly 2 3/8 inches. It is a very heavy piece too.

David on your note on the date inscription, by this time there was a lot of Spanish influence when it came to European engraving and in the mid and northern parts of the Philippines under Spanish rule, Filipinos were taught the arts of European engraving. Of course it is also possible that a Spanish hand did this for a subsequent Spanish owner of this or Filipino data as well.

Again thank you folks for your feedback.

Took a while in between working on other people's jobs.

On other note: Robert, there may have been a silver plate on top of the exposed round tang sticking out between the ears. The only problem is that I don't see any nail holes to indicate one was present.

I will leave this alone for now until I see something that proves otherwise (nail holes, research, etc). If you folks come up with any, please enlighten me........

25th May 2014, 03:48 AM	#1
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,325	Now here is the piece after my restorations. I based these on what was already there, and on the pin holes present and where they were placed. I did the silver mounts in sterling silver sheet, and had to make roughly 34 silver nails by hand. After that, I saw evidence of lamination, so I etched it and found it as well as being surprised by a core. Attached Images

25th May 2014, 03:50 AM	#2
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,325	Finally here are some close ups of the blade: Attached Images

25th May 2014, 04:08 PM	#4
Robert EAAF Staff Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Centerville, Kansas Posts: 2,196	Jose, What a rare and wonderful find !!! I have never seen another exactly like this before though I have seen one other Philippine chopper with the exact same blade shape only minus the fullers but it was fitted with a much planer hilt. Excellent restoration work as usual. I do see that the small retaining plate where the tang extends through the hilt is still missing. Do you think that it would have been made of silver to match the rest of the more decorative bits, or possibly steel or brass for more strength? Could you possibly post the dimensions of this piece for future reference. My sincere congratulations to you on not only having the good fortune in finding such a rare piece, but also on the great restoration work that you have done to preserve it for later generations to admire. Best, Robert Attached Images

25th May 2014, 09:34 AM	#3
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 9,346	Wow, what a beautiful chopper! And the age! Never have seen such a beautiful piece. Are there other documented choppers like this? For which use have been such a nice piece; pure representation? Jose, you really need a new camera! Best regards, Detlef

25th May 2014, 04:22 PM	#5
manteris1 Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 114	well done.......................jimmy

25th May 2014, 05:00 PM	#6
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,237	That is a seriously beautiful thing José. Any thoughts on who engraved the date or why? Seems likely it would have been a European hand, especially with the addition of "AD", which i assume is "Anno Domini" (though i suppose it could be someone's initials). If this is a date of collection i suppose the piece might even be a little older.

26th May 2014, 02:36 AM	#7
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,325	The dimensions are from ears to the end of the blade is roughly 11 inches and the width of the blade at the front where the crescent is measures roughly 2 3/8 inches. It is a very heavy piece too. David on your note on the date inscription, by this time there was a lot of Spanish influence when it came to European engraving and in the mid and northern parts of the Philippines under Spanish rule, Filipinos were taught the arts of European engraving. Of course it is also possible that a Spanish hand did this for a subsequent Spanish owner of this or Filipino data as well. Again thank you folks for your feedback. Took a while in between working on other people's jobs. On other note: Robert, there may have been a silver plate on top of the exposed round tang sticking out between the ears. The only problem is that I don't see any nail holes to indicate one was present. I will leave this alone for now until I see something that proves otherwise (nail holes, research, etc). If you folks come up with any, please enlighten me........