19th century Philippine Halberd from Spanish Colonial Guard
 

I know it does not really qualify as ethnographic, but I thought I would post two halberd heads that I just won at auction and that can serve as a contemporaneous look to some of the swords/daggers some of us collect from the Katipunan/First Philippine Republic. They were captured during the Spanish-American War, and were used by a special guards unit - the Alabarderos de la Guardia del Virrey - that guarded the Spanish colonial governor in the 19th century. Examples of these halberds are found in the President Rutherford Hayes Center and reputedly in the Smithsonian. They are unmarked steel, fairly large - 27" x 17".

FANTASTIC ! One of the neatest ,coolest, nicest thing that I've seen in a while !

Wonderful items and in such good condition. Did you get any provenance with these, possibly paperwork that traces their line of ownership over the years? Even if you didn't they are still a great addition to any collection. My congratulations to you on your new acquisitions.

Best,
Robert

Provenance
 

Unfortunately, no provenance yet but I have reason to believe it was in the Arkansas state collection and they deaccessioned it. I will confirm when i get them.

Looking forward to hearing what you find out. Hopefully if these were owned by that institution they will be able to furnish you with a complete history on them. Good luck and keep us updated on your progress. If you ever get tired of looking at them I have a space on my wall that would fit them perfectly.:D

Best,
Robert

Sorry, can you tell more about Alabarderos de la Guardia del Virrey? Maybe who have image of this warriors?

The Albarderos were the personal bodyguards of the Spanish Captain-General (Governor) in the colonial times in the Philippines.

Actually, the Guardias del Virreyes operated in Spanish colonies in Latin America. I found out from the book "Legislación militar aplicada al ejército de Filipinas" published in 1879 that in Spanish Philippines, the guards were the Guardias de Albarderos del Real Sello (Halberdier Guards of the Royal Seal), which operated from 1589-1867. They were replaced in 1874 until presumably the end of the Spanish colonial regime in 1898 by the Guardias del Capitan General (Guards of the Captain-General).

In both cases, they were a small unit (20-30 men), who were drawn from the best soldiers in the regular army and were entrusted with protection of the governor. Two halberdiers usually accompanied the governor (with their halberds) when he left the palace.

I saw these earlier - nice picture and great info. Thanks!

Donating to the National Museum
 

I was contacted over the weekend by the deputy director of the National Museum of the Philippines, and they are very interested in acquiring at least one of the halberd heads I was fortunate enough to win in auction. I am leaning towards donating one to the National Museum, where they can find their way home in Manila. I am just doing due diligence to see if they really need this in their collection, and what its likely fate would be in their collection. (Sorry, Robert).

Thanks! I find few images, this is Alabarderos de la Guardia del Virrey or not?

I am not certain - they are certainly Albarderos, but probably not Virreyes (which means viceroy), since that unit was discontinued.

Yes check on what the museums will do. I was told that some of my things should go to a museum other there as national treasures (according to Antique Road Show) but not now since they may go in through the front door and out the back door!

This may be one of the fellows you are looking for since he is carrying your halberd.

Not to dissuade you further, but while this is certainly part of the history of the Philippines in colonial times, were these not Spanish weapons welded by Spanish guards? Were they more likely to have been forged in the Philippines or Spain? By Europeans of Filipinos?
You would also be right to investigate exactly what they actually need in their collections and what the fate of this piece would be in their hands. I was just doing some research and was greatly disappointed to discover that while the Metropolitan Museum of Art has about 200 keris in their arms & armory collection not a single one of them is actually on display (and only about a half dozen have been photographed for their online collections gallery). Also, many museums have notoriously paid rather poor attention to the care and maintenance of their edged weapons collections, especially when they end up in draws in the basement instead of on display.

Sadly David, you have a good point.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on museum collections. I do believe there is merit in museums having items in their collections for research (and not necessarily display), but what I am uncertain of is if there really is even research and heritage value for these halberds. Like it was pointed out, they are really Spanish colonial weapons rather than Filipino.

Thanks :D .

Philippine Halberds
 

I was thrilled to find this thread when I googled the above title. I inherited two of these, brought from the Philippines by my grandfather who was a tobacco planter there in the 1900s. The only date I know for sure is that of my mother's birth in Manila in 1907.
One halberd has the original pole with a metal base. The other is just the head; I replaced the pole.
I'm finding this site a bit intimidating, not wishing to break the rules.
However, if someone will tell me how to post an image from my iPhotos, I will be happy to comply.
erinsheff

You can send the images to me if you want and I will post them for you, let me know.

Having been to the Philipines many times I can tell you that the period of the Spanish intervention in the Philippines is an important part of their history, as well as the American and Japanese interventions and items from those times are valued historically even they are not of Philipine origin.

On a recent trip to the Philippines, the Manila airport had a large display of WWII items and photographs showing the destruction and atrocities commited by the Japanese, it was very moving. The Spanish involvement was for a much longer period, I am sure that items from the period would be valued by Filipinos who are interested in the history of their country.

You are right in that there is a lot of interest in Spanish colonial items, as well as those from the Philippine revolutionary period (1896-1902). That is great that you also have 2 of the halberds!

Here's one from Sulu.
on the accompanying note it says, "Steel halbred of the Swiss Pontifical Guard, from the collection of the Sultan of Sulu (Philippines). The Sultan gave it to Colonel Hayes in 1899."

Here is another one. The other picture is the largest I could find, the middle image supposedly shows a guard with the same type of Halberd.

With a bit of editing!