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#1 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Witness Protection Program
Posts: 1,730
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my latest acquisition: a maranao kris from the 19th century. what amazes me about this piece is the completeness and the condition that it's in. i guess a definite advantage having been passed on from not too many people.
this particular piece was originally acquired by John J. Snyder, an officer in the US Navy during the Phil-Am war. it stayed with his family all these years, and it appears to be it has been stored properly. there were some rust which i removed. other than that, that was it. there are some dark spots which i decided to leave. as far as the kris is concerned: the scabbard is definitely original with sword. not quite sure what type of material was used, but the crosspiece was darkened with some type of native dye. as i was trying to clean it off with warm water and soap, it looks like it was coming off, so i just left it as it is, and applied renaissance wax. a curious addition that i don't normally see on moro scabbard is a piece of carabao horn to decorate the tip of the scabbard, or per indonesian keris terminology, the buntot. given that the main body of the scabbard is made out of light colored wood, it gives off a very nice visual contrast. now, the kris: what can i say; it's a freakin' work of art. starting at the pommel, it's made out of silver. i doubt it's solid: most likely wood, then covered with silver. the handle itself comprised of swaasa rings broken up by thinner rings made out of filigreed silver rings. closest to the pommel is a collar made out of swaasa as well. a single silver baka-baka decorated with Maranao okir clamps to the blade. the blade: one of the finest i've ever owned. whoever made this was one talented panday. i just love the way he made the wide part closest to the handle where one normally sees an incised arrow, out of twistcore bar. twistcore runs almost all the way to the tip. one thing i notice: as oppose to most sulu twistcore, this one doesn't have a naga okir on the tip. must be some tribal preference... the gangya is laminated, and it appears the edge are laminated as well. overall, in a true maranao fashion, this baby is heavy! attached are close up for your enjoyment! |
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#2 |
Vikingsword Staff
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: The Aussie Bush
Posts: 4,146
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Gorgeous kris Ron! Lovely blade and exquisite silver and gold hilt. Definitely a sword for a man of distinction. Congratulations on a great find.
I was wondering, looking at the blade, whether this sword might have started its existence to the south of the Philippines. The wide straight blade with deep fullers is unusual for a Moro piece. Also, the toe of the scabbard. Just reminds me of some that we have seen before that likely came from what is now N. Borneo/Malaysia. Just a thought. Do you think the blade might be older than 19th C.? It would be unusually heavy for an earlier Moro piece. Again, congrats on an excellent piece. Ian |
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#3 |
Vikingsword Staff
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 6,285
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Oh my!!!
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#4 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Greenville, NC
Posts: 1,855
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Great piece Ron. I love the crisp fullering and matching twistcore...so bold and consistent!
Great get! Congrats! |
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#5 |
Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 327
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Fantastic blade!!!!!!!!. About as good as it can get.......Dave.
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#6 |
Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,252
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Congrats, Ron, another gorgeous catch - the blade and the hilt are amazing!
You mention that it is heavy: How does the blade feel when swinging it? I don't think the blade is much older than the Phil.-Am. war period; this will - in addition to proper storage - also figure into the nice preservation... I note that the clamp doesn't seem to be attached to the hilt; any ideas why the craftsmanship also looks a bit subpar? While the horn buntut is a nice touch, the scabbard quality does not match this kris IMHO, especially considering the wood and carving/finish. It might be a replacement ordered for a battle pick-up. Any notable wear visible inside? Regards, Kai |
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#7 | |
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,252
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Hello Ian,
Quote:
However, there is a family of keris sundang blades from the Malay peninsula which shares quite a few of these features. IMVHO, this blade does not exhibit any clear Malay features while the base does seem consistent with a Moro and more specifically Maranao origin as already noted by Ron. Regards, Kai |
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#8 | |||
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Witness Protection Program
Posts: 1,730
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thanks all! for once, Facebook was good for something in regards to acquiring this piece
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as far as age, i'm with Kai that the blade was most likely made around late 19th century, but of course, we can never know for sure. Quote:
Quote:
as far as the scabbard. i highly doubt this was a battle field pick up, given the condition it's in. i think it's just one of those Moro weapon idiosyncrasy: there's that one part in the whole ensemble that does not jive. the whole focus on this particular kris is on the handle and blade, so to show it off, it has to be out of the scabbard... |
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#9 |
Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,217
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So did the Genie give you one wish or do you have another one as well ?
There is nothing that I can say that hasn't been said except thanks for sharing that magnificent sword with us ! |
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#10 |
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Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Austria
Posts: 1,903
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Thank you for this magnificent example!
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#11 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 2,222
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Lovely example. how was the hilt when you bought it ? did you clean it ?
Bestregards, Willem |
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#12 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 999
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Nice catch, homie.
I like it that you've polished the hilt. It really stands out. Just wondering, does it have a pinkish/reddish hue to the silver? Congrats. |
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#13 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 478
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Absolutely outstanding. If ever there was a museum quality piece this is it.
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#14 |
Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,232
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Indeed an outstanding piece, Ron.
The fullers till end of the blade give it something like a Malay touch indeed, a singular feature. |
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#15 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 33
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This speaks to me so much. I am a big fan of straight kris and this is the finest example I've seen by far. Just... Wow.
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#16 |
Keris forum moderator
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 7,089
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Please forgive my drooling catcalling....YOWZAH!!!
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#17 |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany, Dortmund
Posts: 8,716
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Wow, great catch! Congrats.
Detlef |
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#18 | ||
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Witness Protection Program
Posts: 1,730
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here's a couple pics of what it looked like before i cleaned it. the only thing different is the tarnish that covered the metals. i really thought the whole thing was silver, but much to my surprise when i found out the handle is swaasa.. Kino, nah, it's full on metallic silver; it's just highly polished. the tint is just a reflection from the red shirt i was wearing when i was taking the pics, lol Gustav, Quote:
Drac2k, no genie, besides what's in the kris's blade, although the time machine i've been messing with is finally working right ![]() lol, i jest. |
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#19 |
(deceased)
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: OKLAHOMA, USA
Posts: 3,138
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A FINE KRIS INDEED CONGRAT'S
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#20 |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 7,189
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What a wonderful example, congratulations!
The okie looks a little more Maguindanao, but they are very close and difficult to distinguish. Also looks like there is more silver in the swassa than I usually see. And I do see your point on the red shirt reflection......... |
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