My collection of Philippine gunong

[Ferguson]

Being a rabid collector of PI gunong from the south, and daggers from the north, I wanted a picture for myself showing what I have accumulated so far. The variety is broad, which is one reason I love these pieces. I thought some of this group might enjoy as well, so here you are. These are my gunong. It started raining just as I finished taking the picture, so the northern pieces will have to wait for another day.
Thanks for looking,
Steve Ferguson

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Gunong/Family-portrait-12-28-07.jpg

Individual pics here (most have been posted on this forum before): http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Gunong/

[Robert]

An absolutely beautiful collection Steve. I can't wait to see your northern daggers!


Robert

[Flavio]

Beautiful collection, Steve!! Congratulations!!! :cool: :cool:

[Ferguson]

Thanks Robert,
My collection of northern pieces is much smaller. I've posted them all individually before. I'd love to see YOUR collection. :)

Steve

[Lew]

Very nice collection there Steve :eek:

So now that you have cornered the gunong market what will you do next :cool: :rolleyes: :D

I found this early picture of Steve when he use to host the Gunong Show many years back. :eek: :D



Lew

[spiral]

Wow! Thats a fantastic collection Steve! Congratulations!

& thanks for sharing. ;)

Spiral

[Robert]

Thanks Robert,
My collection of northern pieces is much smaller. I've posted them all individually before. I'd love to see YOUR collection. :)

Steve

OK, You show me yours and I'll show you mine! :D :eek: :D

[inveterate]

Great collection Steve, congratulations. Rod

[Bill M]

Very nice collection there Steve

So now that you have cornered the gunong market what will you do next :cool: :rolleyes: :D

I found this early picture of Steve when he use to host the Gunong Show many years back. :eek: :D



Lew


Lew,

Is Steve playing the Gunong Gong? :D :eek: :D


Great collection, Steve!

[carlos]

MARVELLOUS COLLECTION!! I HAVE ONLY ONE GUNONG AND HAPPY WITH IT, IF I HAD YOUR COLLECTION, I WAS CRAZY ALL DAYS LOKKING THE GUNONGS!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!
CARLOS

[Nonoy Tan]

A truly remarkable collection of Philippine gunongs. Congratulations!

[Battara]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....Gunong Show.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :D

[Ferguson]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....Gunong Show.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :D

That Lew has a warped sense of humor. :D

Thank you gentlemen for your comments!

Steve

[Berkley]

Steve,
That's a great collection. I especially enjoyed the close-up of the Queen Victoria coin guard - a good example of creative use of available materials in an ethnographic piece. As usual your fine photography does credit to the subject matter.
Berk

[Robert]

Hi Steve,
When will you post the pictures of the northern pieces that you have? :confused: I can't wait to see them and after seeing the wonderful pictures of your gunong I know that the rest of your collection will be of great interest not only to me but to everyone on the forum. Hope to see them soon. ;)

Robert

[Ferguson]

Sorry Robert. Forgot to do that. Will take some pics as soon as I can. Don't have as much from the north, but a few fair pieces.
Steve

[Jim McDougall]

Wow! Neat!

[Ferguson]

Thought it was time for an updated family portrait. :)

Steve

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Gunong/family-portrait-3-2009.jpg

[Sajen]

Hello Steve,
once again, absolute outstanding, very nice collection!
sajen

[Henk]

Superb!!!!!

[Flavio]

MAGNIFICO!

[Robert]

Hello Steve,
WOW :eek: absolutely beautiful!! I see that you have almost doubled the size of your collection of gunong. I hope to see you keep on posting updated pictures as you acquire more items to add your ever growing family.

Robert

[DhaDha]

Beautiful. Even more so. I'd love to see some more shots if you get time.

[Ferguson]

Beautiful. Even more so. I'd love to see some more shots if you get time.


There are a few more pics here:

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Gunong/

Thanks all!
Steve

[Ferguson]

It's been two years since the last family portrait. I've been fortunate to find a few more examples in that time. Took the children out today for a new picture. :)

Steve

[Robert]

Isn't it great when the whole family can get together at the same time.:D :D :D

[Nonoy Tan]

Beautiful collection... You are the Gunong King!

[Dom]

in 3 years ... 15 edged weapons to 37 :eek:
absolutely beautiful collection of gunong,
you may considered you as a lucky man
Congratulations!

à +

Dom

[Gavin Nugent]

Great stuff Steve!!

A nice grouping and I very much admire the single minded dedication to the facet of collecting that you have started and grown....it surely keeps the pains in check...oh I wish I had such focus!!!

Congrats!!

Gav

[David]

That's just dang beautiful Steve... :)

[Nathaniel]

Beautiful Family Photo! Thanks for the update, Ferguson! Very neat to see them all together like that!

[migueldiaz]

That's one very good looking family (and quite prolific, too) ;)

[sta94]

Awesome collection, thanks for sharing! I just saw these pics on filhistory's Facebook page too.

[Atlantia]

Fantastic collection Steve!
Leave some for everyone else ;)

[migueldiaz]

Awesome collection, thanks for sharing! I just saw these pics on filhistory's Facebook page too.Yes, it's here (http://goo.gl/pz4sz). And am the one behind Filhistory at Facebook by the way, for those who still don't know :) Thanks again, Steve! and thanks too, Sta94.

[Rick]

Do the ones with the large ring on the hilt hail from any specific area ?

Like Jose's silver example .. :)

[Ferguson]

Do the ones with the large ring on the hilt hail from any specific area ?

Like Jose's silver example .. :)

I'll have to leave that question to the experts. While I love and collect them, there is so little that I have found written about them.

Steve

[Sajen]

It's been two years since the last family portrait. I've been fortunate to find a few more examples in that time. Took the children out today for a new picture. :)

Steve

OMG, what a great collection! Do you have a display at your wall or how do you keep them?

Regards,

Detlef

[Ferguson]

OMG, what a great collection! Do you have a display at your wall or how do you keep them?

Regards,

Detlef

I hang a few of the large ones by cords from my sword racks. The rest are wrapped up in a drawer. I'd love to have them displayed but my "armoury" is just a small room with my computer desk and a chair. I have khukuris, kris, barongs, tenegre and all manner of sharp pointy objects on the walls. I'm afraid that if I venture out of this room with my collection, I might get serious static from She Who Must Be Obeyed. ;)

Steve

[ThePepperSkull]

Any bigger/individual pics of the one I circled in red, Steve?

It's gorgeous! The carvings are unlike anything I had seen in Moro work. Silverwork looks very Maranao to me though. All in all it's a gorgeous piece.

http://oi56.tinypic.com/f1eckx.jpg

[Ferguson]

Thanks Pepperskull. It's a relatively new piece, maybe 1970s? The style is different from all my others, and very unique. I'll try to get a picture tonight.
Steve

[Battara]

Do the ones with the large ring on the hilt hail from any specific area ?

Like Jose's silver example .. :)

So far I have not found any indication of region based on this. However, I look instead at the okir work to tell if it is Maranao/Maguindanao or Sulu.

Also if the silver is fused/overlaid/plated onto copper, then it is probably Maranao/Maguindanao.

All of this works more for those made before WWII. After WWII it is very difficult to determine region.

[Rick]

Thanks Jose,
I asked 'cause I have silver ferrule rings like that on a spear .

[Battara]

The spears are a different type of critter. Bulbs mean something different on those.

[Ferguson]

ThePepperSkull,
Sorry, I forgot about the pictures you asked for. Here you go. Not traditional work, but beautiful in it's own right. It was a gift from a good friend.
Steve

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Gunong/gunong-carved-overall.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Gunong/gunong-carved-hilt.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/Gunong/gunong-carved-scabbard.jpg

[Ferguson]

OK. I think I have enough. (Unless I see something really special ) :)
Happy New Year everyone.

Steve

[CharlesS]

Awesome collection Steve! Your examples are never just average and always flawless. You have a good eye and terrific tastes in gunong!

[Ferguson]

Thanks Charles. I have a couple of stinkers that I bought before I learned. They aren't in the picture. ;)

Steve

[Sajen]

Great collection Steve! :)

Regards,
Detlef

[Spunjer]

Like!

[Robert]

Absolutely amazing collection Steve.

Best,
Robert

[Berkley]

Happy New Year, Steve.
Thanks for sharing your fabulous collection.
Berk

[David R]

A wonderful collection, which has me wanting an example of this type in my own collection.

[Rafngard]

Hey, Tito gunong!

I'm curious about one of the gunong you have here, as it looks similar to one I just purchased.

I've cropped your last pic to include just the one I'm curious about. Do you happen to have any more pictures of that one?

Thanks,
Leif

[harrywagner]

Holy smokes! Absolutely beautiful, and fun to see together, like a big happy family. Thanks for sharing these.

[Sajen]

I'm curious about one of the gunong you have here, as it looks similar to one I just purchased.

Hello Leif,

I really like this "sort" of gunongs, also when they litterally not antique, to the currently understanding they are from the time frame of the 30th until 40th from the last century, still for use and wear. The bulgy section of the ferrule section is worked from alternating plates, materials are aluminium, black horn, white horn, coloured white horn and probable early plastics like bakelite.
Here are pictures of: my example, a bigger picture of Tito Gunong's example and of one with MOP pommel which went once by ebay for big money.

Regards,
Detlef

[Sajen]

Hello Leif,

think you have bought this nice example. :) ;)

[Rafngard]

Hello Leif,

think you have bought this nice example. :) ;)

Haha! Yes, that is it. You must have been the other bidder.
I'm hoping to get some pictures this weekend of this one, and another gunong I recently purchased.

And thank you very much for these pics. I had thought that 30s - 40s was about right. I am a bit surprised at how massive it is though!

Thanks,
Leif

[Rafngard]

Also, for size comparison, here's a couple of photos of the new one with my small gunong family.

Have fun,
Leif

[Sajen]

Haha! Yes, that is it. You must have been the other bidder.

No, I wasn't. I was waiting that the seller go down with it's price but think that the time is gone to get one like your example cheaper as the price you paid. :shrug:

Regards,
Detlef

[Sajen]

Also, for size comparison, here's a couple of photos of the new one with my small gunong family.

Nice small collection! :) Like most the "new" one and the one with the elongated pommel, a very early example. :cool:

[Rafngard]

Nice small collection! :) Like most the "new" one and the one with the elongated pommel, a very early example. :cool:

The old one is previously posted here. On that one, you were the other bidder ;-)

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=20261

Have fun,
Leif

[Spunjer]

...more gunongs for reference ;)

[Sajen]

...more gunongs for reference ;)

:eek: :eek: :cool:

Hello Ron,

can we see the blades?

Regards,
Detlef

[Spunjer]

sorry, it's not in order

[Spunjer]

second set

[Spunjer]

final set

[Sajen]

Thank you very much Ron! :)

May I ask how long are the tiny ones in down? I have one like this byself, good worked blade but I think that it is a pure souvenir item. What do you think byself?

Regards,
Detlef

[harrywagner]

Thanks for sharing these Ron! You have an amazing collection. I think we can all agree that Gunongs are addictive. :)

I love seeing them all together like this. Robert Hales has a similar display of Kindjals in the preface to "Islamic and Oriental Arms and Armour...". Both your's and Steve's "family reunion" photos would have been good additions to that page. Thanks again. Fabulous knives.

[Sajen]

Don't want withhold my humble collection. ;) :rolleyes: :D

[Battara]

Ron thanks for the close ups.

Both of you rival "Tito Gunong"'s collection (Steve Ferguson)!

Should we call 3 of you the "Gunong Brothers"? "Gunong Grupies"?

(ok I'll stop now.......... :D )

[Sajen]

I have one like this byself, good worked blade but I think that it is a pure souvenir item.

I was speaking about the left example, 17 cm (6.7") long with a blade lenght from 10 cm (3.9"). I think that your four small examples of similar slimness.

Regards,
Detlef

[Spunjer]

thanks. the small ones are rather small... i agree with you that they are more of a souvenir than anything else. they're so small that it's hard to grasp the handle properly. as for their sizes (from largest to smallest):
7 1/4" overall, 4 1/2" blade
6 1/2" overall, 4 1/2" blade
5 1/2" overall, 3 1/2" blade
5 1/2" overall, 3 1/2" blade

[Sajen]

thanks. the small ones are rather small... i agree with you that they are more of a souvenir than anything else. they're so small that it's hard to grasp the handle properly. as for their sizes (from largest to smallest):
7 1/4" overall, 4 1/2" blade
6 1/2" overall, 4 1/2" blade
5 1/2" overall, 3 1/2" blade
5 1/2" overall, 3 1/2" blade

Hello Ron,

yes, they are similar small. Only a very small hand can grasp them properly.

Regards,
Detlef