1st Republic Luzon Bolo

[Battara]

Here is my Katipunaro piece.

[Battara]

Here is another horn carved sword I have that Miguel Diaz (from the past) states is also Tagalog. Though some of the scabbard leather is missing, it is pierced.

[xasterix]

Originally Posted by Battara

Here is my Katipunaro piece.

Very nice! So that's how the silver wire originally wrapped around the underbelly. The brass/bronze parts on mine and Leif's pieces do seem to be replacements. I have another piece with brass/bronze, I've noticed those parts seem to be retrofitted (unlike yours, which is a cohesive whole piece). This is telling, as it would indicate the original owners (or at least their family) were wealthy enough to have their damaged pieces repaired.

I think it's safe to assume that these blades may have existed even before the Katipunan, as Sir Lorenz Lasco cited the documentation of Madrid's 1887 Philippine Exhibition wherein such pieces were featured. In that instance, the elaborate bolos were marked as coming from Binan, Laguna; but different areas (North, Central, probably even South) Luzon probably produced such thematic pieces even before the Katipunan.

A well-placed friend in Spain also told me that their museum experts age-estimate such bolos as early as 1850s. In terms of aesthetics, I would view these as the pinnacle of Luzon craftmanship, as such elaborate carvings were not seen anymore in turn-of-century pieces.