Tenegre deity pommel with knuckle guard
 

Hi! I am new to the forum and a newbie in collecting Philippine swords/knives, but am hoping to continue learning. Many of you have already been great at educating me.

I have a question about the pommels of Visayan tenegres with the deity hilts/pommels. I see that some of them have s-guards, and some the guards connect to the mouth of the deity. Is there any special significance on the guards connecting to the deity mouth? Is this done specially by a certain island, or during a certain time? Some of these guards remind me of Luzon/Katipunan guards.

Thanks!

Welcome to our little forum!

One of the reason that it may remind you of Luzono pieces with the "D" guard is that it is a European, and more specifically, Spanish, influence. The Spanish influences were greatest in south Luzon and the Visayas.

Would you post pictures of your piece please? You would be contributing greatly to our research. :D

This man in Madrid showed it to me after he learned I was from the Philippines. It had a well-sculpted deity head like you see in tenegres, and a D-guard. The ferrule was brass, and the blade had some light etching. Scabbard was a light wood with brass strips. Interestingly, the scabbard had a curved tip, and not straight and "box" like I have seen in photos of tenegre scabbards.

The man said it was brought back to Spain in the 19th century. I forgot to take pictures - I will try again next week.

The lowlanders have straight scabbards whereas the highlanders have curved scabbards on Panay.

Pictures would help.