Nice Barong ended on eBay.
 

Wow I didn't think a barong could command this price($1990). I believe the former owner is also a member here...sorry for posting up your auction, I just think thats awesome. Not awesome that I can not afford one now, but awesome that these weapons are finally getting recognized as high quality fine pieces of art and people are willing to pay for it. :D

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=380107815400

Well I guess it means it is growing to be a highly appreciated object (which is good), which also means fewer and fewer people can see, hold, and appreciate them as they get expensive (which is not so good). European, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and now Moro articfacts are getting expensive. Oftentimes African artifacts are not as much, and there is also less hype about them. A Fijian warclub will probably sell for more than a Zulu knobkerrie or an Iroquois ball-headed warclub.
So it has it's good and bad, the higher number of cheap antiques there are, the more people can appreciate them (but also more will "ruin" them). The more expensive these antiques are... then they are more likely to end up in museums or the large private collections of those who can afford them. That means they'll be appreciated and cared for... but means most people won't ever have the same pleasure. I don't know what's better... do you? :confused: What's the point of keeping a nation's heritage in a display case (rather than in it's homeland), if the information isn't going to be shared? But of course, many people "abused" antiques, so that can be debatable.

Hopefully the original owner (Datu's family?) was more than compensated for the barong... but I doubt it :shrug:

For something that had a broken kakatua it sure went for a lot.
It might have been a bidding war, I didn't follow it.

No chance. The barung was probably brought back at the turn of century. War booty.

No doubt, that's how most ethnographic antiques found their way to the West

More than I would have paid for it.

Very nice barong.

Lovely inlay, but No way I would pay such an amount for a damaged piece without scabbard.
Somebody (or probably a few people) must really have wanted this one.

a remark on kukulza's comments :

For African weapons you are probably right.
But African ethnographic items are sold for big $$$.$$$ at autions in Europe.
And than I really mean 100.000's USD

ah I did some research and you're right... African objects in general quite a bit.. but their weaponry, not so much. Like Bill said I wouldn't have paid that much for the barong, but then again I am not a collector of antiques (not that I can afford it), I'm just an appreciator. :)

Nuts!!!!

Yeah, interesting auction result considering these times of recession. This was a very nice barong once, but considering the damage and the lack of a sheath this figure is way over the top. I don't believe it is a good indicator of where the current market stands. :shrug: