Maguindanao twistcore Kris.

[Ian]

I'm bringing this one back up because of my recent interests in dating Moro kris and distinguishing Moro from non-Moro work. The original post by Gustav shows a beautiful sword. Much comment was made about the excellent forging of the blade and its twist core central areas. Less attention was given to the cold work on this blade, which I think is of a very high standard.

Gustav noted two unusual features of this blade.

• The tikel alis
• The projection of the central twist core panel almost to the blade tip, ending in a pointed rather than a rounded curved manner

These are both unusual features for a Moro kris. To these uncommon findings, I would add three more.

• The squared-off ends of the sogokan
• The closure of the arrowhead area and formation of an acute point
• The projection of the curved upper edge and greneng onto the gangya which has been hollowed out to the same curve as the adjacent blade (I'm unsure how this feature would be named)—this finding was described in another recent thread here.

It could be said that these are stylistic variations adopted by a particular craftsman. However, put together, I think they indicate a non-Moro blade. The treatment of the gangya (grooved area adjacent to greneng) is seen fairly commonly on Malay blades from the (late) 19th C and later, for example, as are the squared off sogokan. I have not seen these features on other Moro blades, but do see it on Malay kris. Similarly, the long, central, twist-core panel is quite common on Malay sundang but not seen on Moro versions. Lastly, the arrow head area just doesn't look quite right for Moro work.

My conclusion is that this beautiful blade has more Malay features than Moro features.

And then there is the plain old hilt atop this high quality blade. The pommel seems much older than the blade, judging from the age cracks, and the minimal kakatua pommel (without a crest or side panel) is an old style that likely predates 1800. The rattan wrap also seems mundane for this blade. Perhaps this is a pusaka hilt of significance to the owner. The hilt style is consistent with either Moro or Malay origin. We don't have a scabbard, which would have provided more information about the style of dress.

I think this is probably a Malay blade that ended up in the Philippines (maybe a custom order?), something that seems to have happened fairly commonly in the 19th C.