GUNONG

[nechesh]

Jose, thanks for the addition varification on the coin's origin. I'm not sure about the silver work on the sheath, but i think the ferrule is probably original to the blade.
On a related note i wondered what opinions might be on the example below. It is most probably from Batangas and i assume it was meant for export, but it seems a high quality than similar "tourist" gunongs from the area. The sheath is horn (on both sides; some of these have wood on the back side) as is the hilt. the ferrule and cross piece are brass and there are inlays of M.O.P. with a square "button" of M.O.P. at the pommel.As you can see, both the hilt and the sheath have okir like carvings. I wonder if it is even proper to refer to it as a gunong. Does anyone know if this blade form was used traditionally in that area or do they just turn them out for export? This one seems a bit older than similar examples i have seen (and small - blade 5 3/4", overall almost 11")but i would still imagine it is from the second half of the 20thC. Any ideas?

[tom hyle]

It's a gunong. Not real old, I agree. The blade with its tapered width is a form I see on old-seeming pieces. It appears to be in the handle backwards, though this is not real uncommon, and as it is a fairly symmetrical example, not terribly affecting.....

[Federico]

Nice gunong. Looks like it may be original and complete to me, but then I dont have the benefit of seeing it person. All the hallmarks of an older piece, from blade, to hilt, to scabbard, to materials (Mexican silver dollars were standard currency by early US administrations in PI for many years), etc... Nothing much to add. Though the hidden assassin weapon part, Ive seen it come up in records and memoirs, eg. this dagger was used to kill so and so it was hidden in the turban, etc... But then I cant say this how common this was. My own feeling is that it may have been a rare occurance, like hiding other weapons, but was not the intended daily wear. There are pictures of guongs being worn more openly, and not hidden. Given how plain the vast majority of the older ones are, my own feeling is that they were not intended as assassin weapons, but rather the utility side was more common. The older ones definitely feel more comfortable in the hand to use than the newer ones, and the majority of the old ones I have encountered, given their age, have shown quite a bit of usage which would seem in keeping with a utility origin. Oh, well just some of what I have seen and thought, but anyways just another guess.

As for the Bataangas piece, the Xtian areas, particularly around the Katipunan era, did have a resurgence in traditional forms, and one sees daggers with kris blades popping up with greater frequency. I do not know if we can truly call these piece gunongs, but I figure punal de kris would work just as well.

[Rick]

About a Luzon provenance for your latest example .
The scabbard has a very strong flavor of Mindanao IMO .
Quite similar to the various Women's work knives we see .

[Bill]

as often said, its hard to tell from pictures. The sheath is old, it shows wear marks that should continue, some what, onto the silver work but doesn't apear to. It would make no sense for updating the sheath to silver work without replacing the wood, unless you wanted to make the piece look old, which the original wearer would not. The silver looks to be a very thin guage compared to what we normaly see. As the silver is turned there is some slight bends, in time & with use they would spread out and look like multiple depressions instead of bends. The twisted silver wire looks modern machine made. The stampings are not what is common on Moro pieces, they are well formed & should have deposits that are almost impossible to clean without removing from the hilt. The coin looks to have been put through some sort of rolling mill, the center cut with nice square corners, instead of filed. All these things give me the feel that all the silver work is less then 25 yrs, just my opinion. I'm sure you could take it to a old fashion jeweler, & get a good estimate on when the work was done.

[nechesh]

Well, as you say Bill, pictures can be deceptive. The silver on the sheath and ferrule isn't particlarly thin at all and seems a fairly pure quality. a close examination of the wire work gives me no impression whatsoever that it is machine made. I am not sure what you mean about the coin being "rolled", but it appears to be at it's original thickness and the designs on both sides have usual circulation wear. On close examination the cut is not so clean. Two corners are straight, the other two not. As someone who has had experience filing silver i will say that the work could well have been done by hand without machinery. The wood of the sheath is, unlike the handle, a rather soft wood. It would have marred fairly easily while the much harder silver would not. The blade and the the wood of the sheath are obviously old. I don't know what Rick paid for this item, but i bought it from him for $99 bucks. It seems to me that to do this kind of work on this gunong, even 25 yrs. ago, to try to deceive a buyer into thinking it was old and original to reap a higher price would not be worth it in the end for the seller. But certainly your opinion, even if true, would not take away from my appreciation of the piece. I am much more interested in the historical perspective of the weapon in general, it's origins and place in the cultural hierachy.

[nechesh]

Bill was kind enough to send me this link a while back and i was just waiting for the auction to end to post it, but it slipped my mind. This is the very same type of coin from which the cross piece is made. I almost bid on this so i could have a spare part.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1