New Ivory-hilt Gunongs For Sharing
 

Gunongs haven't been well represented in my Moro collection as dagger importation here in New Zealand requires a bit of paperwork and clearance from the police and customs. However, I came across some ivory-hilt gunongs from Ebay and I decided to go for them. The pictures are from the seller (I am still waiting for the last pair of ivory gunongs from NZ customs. I will post a group pic once I get them). Comments are most welcome. Thanks.

Gunong 1

Gunong 2

Gunong 3

Ah, so that's where those ended up. I had made a few (probably way too low) offers to the seller and got nowhere.

This child's gunong, with "french ivory" came from the same seller. I suspect they all came from the same place.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=24831

Thanks,
Leif

Yup Leif, they all came from the same seller. They were all initially grossly overpriced especially the gunong pair. I kept an eye on them as they were offered over and over in a gradually decreasing price until I found a reasonable price range and went for it. An ivory-hilt danganan kris was also offered by the same seller in the same batch but someone got to it first. The same kris was offered again by another seller recently but at more than 3 x the original selling price.

By the way Leif, there was another small gunong offered by the seller. Did you get it?

Hello Aslan,
Yes, I agree on the price. I was also watching these. Apparently you got to them first. Congrats!
I missed that the kris was being resold. I've noticed that Filippino, especially Moro items have increased significantly in price recently. I think some sellers are trying to capitalize on this.

If you're referring to the gunong I posted about in the below link, than yes. It would appear to be the only one of the batch that is not ivory. So it goes.
:shrug:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=24831

Have fun,
Leif

I'm referring to this one Leif, I think the handle is Bakelite.

I love #2! To my untrained eye, it looks like it has the most age.

Steve

You're actually right Steve. According to Battara it could be from the late 30s to 40s, with the blade earlier than the mounts. The others he dated later than the 40s. And it has the nicest blade - swirling lamination pattern present.