A rare Luzon Salakot

[Gavin Nugent]

A fine silver embellished 19th century Luzon Salakot or district chief's hat.

A fine and recent addition to our hear gear collection and a big thank you to Nathaniel for pointing me in the right direction and Lorenz for the confirmation.

I hope you enjoy this unusual piece.

Gavin

[VANDOO]

MUST HAVE BELONGED TO THE KAISER OF THE PHILIPPINES. :D REMINDS ME OF THE SPIKES ON WW1 GERMAN HELMETS. SPIKES ON HEADGEAR ARE ALSO COMMON IN THAILAND, BURMA AND OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE REGION.
VERY COOL! :cool:

[Robert]

A Luzon Pickelhaube :D A wonderful addition to your collection and in such great condition!! Will you be polishing the wood and silver up a bit?

Best,
Robert

[Gavin Nugent]

Thanks guys.

I will not be touching the patina in anyway.

Gavin

[Iain]

Lovely piece, thanks for sharing. I always appreciate viewing even if I don't have an insightful comment to contribute. :)

[Sajen]

Very nice piece Gavin! :)

[Battara]

This is a great example. Most of these seem to. E Tagalog and in museums. Yours is in great condition. I would only polish the silver (which is meant to be polished).

Only elite men important to the Spanish government had the privilege of wearing them.

[Maurice]

A lovely piece and great to see it in uncleaned condition!

Rare find and in very good condition!

Regards,
Maurice

[kino]

What a beautiful hat. Is it made from a gourd or a hollowed out wood?
The silver spike is amazing.
Congrats!

[Gavin Nugent]

Thanks Gents.

Battara, the silver, I will leave, the next custodian can choose what they want to do there.

Maurice, a lucky find, just the right place at the right time...I never ever expected to see one.

Kino, I was pondering that for a while and I think you hit the nail on the head! It does appear to be a gourd outer casing with a complex rattan inner.

Thanks

Gavin

[Battara]

I have seen these made of gourd, wood, canvas, felt, turtle shell, and even porcupine fish, all with some silver on them.

Woven complex rattan work on the inside is common to all.

What is nice is that yours is complete, even the chin tie. :)

[kino]

What is nice is that yours is complete, even the chin tie. :)

I question the leather chin strap...to me it doesn't seem to be original to the hat, it could be a replacement. It has a brass ring, which I think should be silver to match the rest of the embellishments. That being said, it's still a very lovely piece that if it were mine, it would be my Sunday go to meeting hat.

Here's one that I found a couple of months back, woven rattan with a tiny spike.

[Gavin Nugent]

Kino,

I personally think the entire chin strap, antler toggles and the end pieces are reproduced, I suspect faithfully from what may have once resided there.

Gavin

[Battara]

Well upon a second look, you are right it is leather.

I believe that these were originally made of woven cloth cord, and yes often with silver pieces matching the silver on the rest of the salakot.