Another campilon
 

Here is another interesting campilon. The handle is made from narwal ivory in a non-traditional form. Blade is laminated and is 27 inches long, 32 1/2 inches overall. On the back of the handle is a Spanish coin. I believe this blade is one of the oldest I've owned. It just has a feel to it that the later ones don't seem to have although I don't have any real proof. Just my thoughts. What do you think?........Dave.

Hello Dave,

nice one, very nice lamination on the blade. The handle have a very nice patina. What let you to be sure that it is narwhale ivory? Frankly said I've handled only one time old narwhale ivory and can't remember really how it has looked. :shrug: Again, outstanding and unusual campy!

Regards,
Detlef

A BEAUTIFUL BLADE AND UNUSUAL HANDLE. NO DOUBT IT WOULD BE AN INTERESTING STORY OF HOW NARWHALE IVORY AND A KAMPILLIAN CAME TOGETHER. A UNIQUE AND LIKELY ONE OF A KIND SWORD. :cool:

Hi Detlef: There is a man in San Francisco that works a lot in ivory, and when I should it to him he said it was from the very base of the narwal skull. That is the only part that would have the diameter for a decent sized handle after being carved down. But even he stated he couldn't be 100% sure on this one without removing the coin on the back end. Yes, this camp does have a nice standout pattern, better than some that I've owned.........Dave

Barry: I'm not surprised any more about anything I see on a moro sword. There was so much trade going on between different groups, that you just never know what you might see that would look out of place. Somehow I don't think this particular campilon would have been used by a moro after it was rehandled. Probably some other group nearby..........Dave.

Hi Dave,

this was the reason why I have asked this question. Very rare material and seldom seen at ethnograhic weapons.

Regards,
Detlef

Dave, this blade has a really nice contrast, was the blade etched with phosphoric acid?

Albert: Yes. Phosphoric is pretty much all I use anymore unless the metal doesn't respond well. Then, as a very last resort, ferric chloride......Dave.

I know what you mean "It just has a feel to it" I've held many Moro weapons and some just feel awkward while others are just scary. Leaves me with no doubt which one I would trust.

Just curious why you would say this. Why would such material not be acceptable by a Moro? :shrug:

It's narwhal without a doubt, with some of the nicest age crack patterning I've seen - and I see a lot of it! :)

Oh yeah btw, you can't really make something like a sword hilt out of the base of the tusk - the walls here are thin and rather fragile. I think it's carved from the piece imediately distal of the end of the pulp cavity or possibly near it with. What is the diameter?


Cheers, Thor

David: It's not that this stuff would not be acceptable to a Moro, it's just that, in my mind anyway that most would go with the form of a traditional handle. I think it's just human nature. Most people in any culture are going to go with what they are used to. Of course there always going to be exceptions though..........Dave.

I ALWAYS WANTED A NARWHALE TUSK BUT GAVE UP SEVERAL YEARS AGO AND BOUGHT A REPLICA MADE OF CAST RESIN. IT LOOKS GOOD AT A DISTANCE BUT NEVER WILL GAIN A PATINA OR BE THE REAL MAGICAL THING BUT IS THE BEST I CAN DO IN THIS LIFE.
IT IS 57 INCHES LONG AND 2 INCHES IN DIAMETER AT THE BASE. I SUSPECT IT IS A LARGER SIZE AS THESE TUSKS GO BUT THERE ARE SOME LARGER ONES NO DOUBT. THIS WAS A REPLICA OF A REAL TUSK SO DOES GIVE SOME IDEA OF SIZE.
ONE THING THAT PUZZLES ME IS WHY WOULD ONE WANT TO REMOVE ALL THE RAISED SPIRAL TEXTURE OF THE NATURAL TUSK TO MAKE A SWORD HANDLE OR ANYTHING ELSE. THAT VERY UNIQUE SPIRAL TEXTURE IS WHAT SETS IT APART FROM ALL OTHER IVORY AND GIVES IT ITS BEAUTY. :confused:

A PICTURE OF A RARE NARWHALE SKULL WITH 2 TUSKS IT IS 8 FEET 11 INCHES LONG. THEY USUALLY ONLY HAVE ONE TUSK.

Thor: The tusk is slightly oval, 1 1/2 inches on the wide side, and a little over an inch on other side.........Dave.

Barry: I've wondered that myself. It would seem to me that the spirals would give a natural non-slip surface. There is a dealer in Canada that sells narwal ivory as well as other kinds of related things........Dave.

I have resisted commenting until now. To me this hilt seems wrong on several levels to be contemporary with the blade:

1. Narwal ivory would be so difficult to get to the southern Philippines, even through trade.

2. The pin keeping the old Spanish coin in the pommel - usually there is no pommel cap on kampilans.

3. When one rarely sees this type of hilt shape, it is usually because the pommel has been broken so many times that the isn't much left.

4. Unless the cross guard is made of horn, ivory would not normally be used without also using other higher ranking materials in suite.

These are my thoughts on this piece. It all may be authentic, or at least the blade may be older, and yes trade went very far and anything is possible. I guess I have my reservations until proved or convinced otherwise.

Jose: I agree with you that this kind of ivory would be difficult to obtain in the Philippines but not impossible. My own thoughts are India. Many kinds of exotic materials were traded to India from northern lands going way back to Viking days. then traded to other places. As far as the pommel cap goes, yes, there is usually no caps on campilons handles, BUT....this is not a normal type of handle for this type of sword. This is no doubt this is a "put together" piece, but this is the way we got it. The question is where was it done, and who, and how long ago was it done. These are questions that I can't answer...........Dave.