Moro Kris

[Spunjer]

been looking for a kamagong ball pommel for awhile. as far as beauty, they're pretty much up there with the junggayan stuff, i think. the unique talismanic symbols on the blade is a plus. what's interesting is an unusual mark by the elephant trunk which looks like the roman numeral 1. but most of all, it has a provenance.
a kalis given by HRH Sultan Jamalul-Kiram II to (then) Capt. Charles Howland

[Maurice]

Hey....This is not a barung? ;-)

Beautifull kris Ron.
you keep amazing me!

Can you tell us some more about the provenance?



Maurice

[Battara]

Nice piece - glad you finally got one........

Silver mounts look nice and shiny...........

[Sajen]

Very nice kris! And a beautiful pommel.

Regards,

Detlef

[Spunjer]

thanks detlef... of course jose, gotta bring it back to its glory days, hehe.
maurice, i'm still researching this capt. howland. i know he was stationed in luzon in the early days of the phil-am war, but don't know anything after that..

[mrwizard]

Very nice Kris, the silver and the (ebony?) pommel match perfectly

Howland published an article about the philippine insurrection. If you can find a copy this would make a nice addition to the kris.
Howland, Charles R. "The Philippine Insurrection of 1899: A Study." Infantry Journal XXX (Apr 1927): pp. 395-406. Per.

Best Regards,
Thilo

[migueldiaz]

nice!!

[mross]

Originally Posted by Spunjer

been looking for a kamagong ball pommel for awhile. as far as beauty, they're pretty much up there with the junggayan stuff, i think. the unique talismanic symbols on the blade is a plus. what's interesting is an unusual mark by the elephant trunk which looks like the roman numeral 1. but most of all, it has a provenance.
a kalis given by HRH Sultan Jamalul-Kiram II to (then) Capt. Charles Howland

Spunjer,
I agree. These are really nice looking and few and far between. I don't usually carp over lost auctions, but my biggest regret is one of these I lost out several years ago. Even posted about it. Nice find. Good provenance. All around good deal.

[Spunjer]

thanks mross... i think these types (kamagong and ivory dots) are a class by themselves. it screams strictly sulu.
vandoo, the blade is about 21 inches, average in size. the plate is indeed on the larger side. interesting in that the Moro Campaign in Mindanao was in full swing (in 1902). i'm wondering what this captain howland was doing in Sulu. as a captain at that time, i'm assuming with that rank, he's a company commander, unless he's some sort of an executive officer to garner a gift from the sultan himself. nevertheless, the kris came with some pretty good historical trivia with it.

[CharlesS]

Very NOice!

[Spunjer]

well, seems to be moro stuff doesn't garner much discussion around here anymore, but just in case someone google Capt. Charles R. Howland and this thread pops up, i would like to add this information for future reference:

Born in Jefferson, Ohio. Graduated from USMA West Point in June of 1891 and assigned to 20th Infantry Regiment. During the Philippine-American War, a 1st Lt., he was appointed a Captain of U.S. Volunteers in the 28th US Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The 28th fought in Luzon and northern Mindanao and was decommissioned in May of 1901, which is when his volunteer commission expired. He received a permanent promotion to Captain in the 27th Infantry Regiment on Feb 2, 1901. The 27th Infantry was stationed across Moroland in early 1901 and a battalion was at Jolo.

[Nonoy Tan]

A very good specimen of history!