Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

David · 19th February 2014, 04:53 AM

No worries Amuk. It's a good comparison piece to the one i've presented.

Here is the story presented to me and perhaps you can see why i am skeptical. This gentleman wants to return this gunong to the Iolani Palace in Hawaii because he believes it was taken from there in 1942 and once belonged to the King of Hawaii, a gift from the king of Burma when King David Kalakaua visited there in 1881. His story is rather detailed, but i suspect someone was telling tales to someone along the way.

"My father was given this dagger by an Air Force General in 1955 under the
condition it that it could never be sold or traded it could only be given back
to the Air Force General who gave it to him.
The general told my father that during world war II while he was stationed in
Hawaii, he traded a jeep for the dagger. (I'm assuming it was a military jeep)
The man who traded the dagger to the general was in charge of developing and
installing the water injection systems for the P-38 Thunderbolts engines in
Honolulu. The water injection gave a significant power upgrade the P-38's which
allowed them to take on the Japanese zero's more effectively. This is the
person who took the dagger from the palace or wherever the palace collection
was being stored in about 1942.
The Air Force General told my father the dagger was a gift from the King of
Burma for the King of Hawaii.
In doing my own research I found that King David Kalakaua did travel to Burma
in 1881 and would assume that is when the King of Burma gave the dagger to him.
I'm not certain why he would give him a Filipino dagger and not a Burmese
dagger. The only thing I can guess is it was something the Hawaiian King had
seen on display and may have admired or commented about it to the King of Burma who then gave it to him."

To me, and it seems there is some agreement, stylistically this gunong couldn't be any older than early 20th century. AFAIK the hilt style with the nail and filigree work and the more bulbous pommel piece all point to this. I would also question why the King of Burma would gift a Filippino dagger to a King from Hawaii instead of an item from his own culture.

19th February 2014, 04:53 AM	#8
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,026	No worries Amuk. It's a good comparison piece to the one i've presented. Here is the story presented to me and perhaps you can see why i am skeptical. This gentleman wants to return this gunong to the Iolani Palace in Hawaii because he believes it was taken from there in 1942 and once belonged to the King of Hawaii, a gift from the king of Burma when King David Kalakaua visited there in 1881. His story is rather detailed, but i suspect someone was telling tales to someone along the way. "My father was given this dagger by an Air Force General in 1955 under the condition it that it could never be sold or traded it could only be given back to the Air Force General who gave it to him. The general told my father that during world war II while he was stationed in Hawaii, he traded a jeep for the dagger. (I'm assuming it was a military jeep) The man who traded the dagger to the general was in charge of developing and installing the water injection systems for the P-38 Thunderbolts engines in Honolulu. The water injection gave a significant power upgrade the P-38's which allowed them to take on the Japanese zero's more effectively. This is the person who took the dagger from the palace or wherever the palace collection was being stored in about 1942. The Air Force General told my father the dagger was a gift from the King of Burma for the King of Hawaii. In doing my own research I found that King David Kalakaua did travel to Burma in 1881 and would assume that is when the King of Burma gave the dagger to him. I'm not certain why he would give him a Filipino dagger and not a Burmese dagger. The only thing I can guess is it was something the Hawaiian King had seen on display and may have admired or commented about it to the King of Burma who then gave it to him." To me, and it seems there is some agreement, stylistically this gunong couldn't be any older than early 20th century. AFAIK the hilt style with the nail and filigree work and the more bulbous pommel piece all point to this. I would also question why the King of Burma would gift a Filippino dagger to a King from Hawaii instead of an item from his own culture.