Bolo?

[Jerseyman]

I'm really not sure where to place this piece. It was an auction find some years ago and listed as a bolo - not of course that that means anything.

It has a beautiful blade; the taper is very fine and graduated in every direction to a good cutting edge all round with a lenticular profile. The ricasso is shield shaped and decorated with three beaded bands.

The hilt is wood inlaid on both sides with finely worked metal panels with vegetal decoration. Some losses (about 25%) on one side. White metal, probably not silver as it's not tarnished at all over the years. The tang is fixed with a six-claw nut, similar to a jewellery fitting, and interestingly there is a second one, but I'm not sure what it's fixing in place.

The guard is decorated with scales and eyes in snake/naga form, and there is a finger ring inserted between guard and hilt. This is not as finely worked as the rest of the piece and may perhaps be a later addition. The pins in the grip do remind me of some Spanish colonial weapons hilts, particularly the Cuban militia swords.

The side profile shape of the hilt is reminiscent of something I've seen but I can't place it.

Sadly no scabbard which is real shame as I'd have loved to see how it matched the aesthetic of the weapon, and how it would have accommodated that ricasso.

Where is it from? Indonesia? Philippines? Central or South America? Maybe even India (Decoration style? Naga blade shapes?) though it doesn't really fit any other aspect of the sub-continent weapon styles. It's a puzzle and I'd appreciate any thoughts.


Dimensions

Length 57.5cm
Blade length 37cm
Blade width 2.5cm > 4.5cm
Hilt length 16.5cm
Hilt width 2.5cm > 5.5cm
Ricasso 4cm x 4.5cm

[Jerseyman]

More pictures

[kino]

It’s beautiful. It has a Spanish influence with that ring. Never seen one similar to it.
I vote for Philippines.

[Sajen]

Beautiful! Another vote for Philippines!

[Gavin Nugent]

A very noteworthy and high end Philippine piece.

Congrats on securing this one, it's a special piece... certainly the man about town.

[Ian]

Philippines. Luzon (Tagalog). Very interesting piece and extraordinarily ornate. The falchion-style blade suggests it is in the sangbartolome family of blades. Perhaps Xasterix can place it more accurately for us.

[xasterix]

Originally Posted by Ian

Philippines. Luzon (Tagalog). Very interesting piece and extraordinarily ornate. The falchion-style blade suggests it is in the sangbartolome family of blades. Perhaps Xasterix can place it more accurately for us.

Thanks for the redirect Ian! Congratulations on such a wonderful Tagalog nobility bolo Jerseyman. I'm guessing it's from Quezon province, as the motifs correspond with patterns found on Quezon nobility bolos. The blade profile is one of those "truncated tip" iterations, and it may be a San Bartolome profile (I've yet to verify- I don't know yet what Quezon province considers as such).