Swish of the Kris - For Wayan :)

[cannonmn]

Thanks for posting that pic-certainly if you ever put it up for sale, let us know (the smiley faces don't include one that is drooling, unfortunately!) That's one of the finest Filipino/Moro kris' I've ever seen.

I have a modest Filipino weapons collection with many lantakas (to save digits, will admit that some may be Filipino and many not), a suit of Moro tortoise-shell body armor with brass helmet, and a handful of edged weapons. A couple of the major items came from descendents of ca. 1902 US Secretary of War Elihu Root, who received them as gifts from military officers who had served in the Philippines.

I visited the Philippines many times while on duty in the Western Pacific in the Navy, and acquired an appreciation for the culture and art of that country.

In case this is not widely known, prior to about 1973, the Negritos were allowed to set up souvenir stands right on the Subic Bay U.S. Naval Base. They sold some new but very well-made native-type primitive weapons, which unfortunately were used by sailors in two mutinies (a.k.a. riots) aboard US aircraft carriers in the early 1970's. This led to the Negrito souvenir booths being evicted from the base.