A Somewhat Unusual Kampillan

[CharlesS]

No doubt many of you Moro enthusiasts saw this kampillan on Ebay, and I was lucky enough to pick it up.

It is nothing spectacular. The hilt is quite plain. The blade is of a typical style, but it is very thick and heavy, and it is the fullers that caught my attention. The fullering looks very similar to those on a Chinese sword, but I cannot imagine how a blade of this shape could have come from a reworked Chinese blade. Note the fullers are very shallow and look very worn, seeming to indicate that the blade was at one time even thicker.

The somewhat unusual configuration of brass dots and stars throughout the blade.

Any ideas on this blade???

Thanks in advance for any input.

[Maurice]

Originally Posted by CharlesS

No doubt many of you Moro enthusiasts saw this kampillan on Ebay, and I was lucky enough to pick it up.

It is nothing spectacular. The hilt is quite plain. The blade is of a typical style, but it is very thick and heavy, and it is the fullers that caught my attention. The fullering looks very similar to those on a Chinese sword, but I cannot imagine how a blade of this shape could have come from a reworked Chinese blade. Note the fullers are very shallow and look very worn, seeming to indicate that the blade was at one time even thicker.

The somewhat unusual configuration of brass dots and stars throughout the blade.

Any ideas on this blade???

Thanks in advance for any input.

Hello Charles,

Congrats with your nice kampilan. Indeed the pommel is quite plain.
But in opposite the blade is very nice and interesting.
The dots and "stars" I've also seen on moro krisses, but I agree they are ranged unusual.
But that makes it even more interesting, together with the fullers.
I've seen moro krisses with shallow fullers though. But I don't know from what blades they were made. The "fullered"ones I've had in my hands had no lamination as seen on old forged krisblades as far as I can remember...So probably made from reworked blades (not necessarily chinese)??

Kind Regards,
Maurice

[Rick]

I think what you've got there is an old fullered Kampilan blade forged that way on purpose .

Lots of brass in there; looks like a starry night !


Not a recycled blade .


$0.02

[VANDOO]

THE BLADE IS PROBABLY OLDER THAN THE HANDLE. ALL THE INLAY REMINDS ME OF DAYAK MANDAU BLADES SO PERHAPS THE ORIGINAL HANDLE WAS OF THE OLD DAYAK STYLE.
FULLERED BLADES ARE UNUSUAL IN MORO OR DAYAK BLADES SO CUSTOM MADE WITH FULLERS OR FROM A RECYCLED BLADE INLAY ON KAMPILIAN BLADES IS NOT COMMON BUT QUITE A FEW ARE AROUND. THE INLAY IN YOUR BLADE IS MORE NUMEROUS AND IS NOT ONLY AT THE TIP AS IS USUALY THE CASE. THE STAR SHAPED INLAYS ARE UNIQUE ON KAMPILIANS IN MY EXPERIENCE.
ITS LIKELY INFLUENCED FROM MORE THAN ONE SOURCE, PERHAPS MORO, DAYAK, EUROPEAN, CHINESE OR INDIA. IF IT COULD ONLY TELL ITS STORY. NICE ONE

[Maurice]

Originally Posted by VANDOO

THE BLADE IS PROBABLY OLDER THAN THE HANDLE. ALL THE INLAY REMINDS ME OF DAYAK MANDAU BLADES SO PERHAPS THE ORIGINAL HANDLE WAS OF THE OLD DAYAK STYLE.
FULLERED BLADES ARE UNUSUAL IN MORO OR DAYAK BLADES SO CUSTOM MADE WITH FULLERS OR FROM A RECYCLED BLADE INLAY ON KAMPILIAN BLADES IS NOT COMMON BUT QUITE A FEW ARE AROUND. THE INLAY IN YOUR BLADE IS MORE NUMEROUS AND IS NOT ONLY AT THE TIP AS IS USUALY THE CASE. THE STAR SHAPED INLAYS ARE UNIQUE ON KAMPILIANS IN MY EXPERIENCE.
ITS LIKELY INFLUENCED FROM MORE THAN ONE SOURCE, PERHAPS MORO, DAYAK, EUROPEAN, CHINESE OR INDIA. IF IT COULD ONLY TELL ITS STORY. NICE ONE

Could be that the blade is older as the handle, but I've seen very simple and plain hilts on kampilans in very old pre 1900 collections. So it could be the original one also...

There are fullers on some Murut blades, the so called pakayuns.
But these blades are narrower and have an curve upwards, so Charles kampilan could not be a reworked Murut sword.

The inlay is also very different as seen on mandau blades. the only thing that looks like it are the brass dots, but than not placed in the way they are on Charles's blade. And brass dots are also common on moro swords.
There are (chiefs) mandaus with stars on the blade, but they look different as the stars on this kampilan, which I exactly have seen on old moro krisses before...

I found an image of an old style kampilan also with a fullered blade, and from a kampilan (2 images) of somekind similar inlay (stars are different though, but the dots are placed in the same "three"way). Both are not mine btw.

[Maurice]

I once started a thread about talismanic inlay on moro blades.....
Here you'll find some krisses, with the same star inlay as on the kampilan blade.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...6&page=1&pp=30

[Spunjer]

rare indeed, to see talismanic marks on kampilan blades. nice catch, charles!

[VVV]

Nice catch indeed!

Dots I have seen before on kampilan blades but this is the first time I see stars on them too.

Michael