Ian, thanks for your kind words and support.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RSWORD
I have an example to share to hopefully add to the overall discussion. The sword is a D-guard sword with a hilt very similar to the example shared in this post but with a more typical Filipino blade. The scabbard has a ton of iconography on it. First, at the very top of the scabbard it is dated 1901. Below that is a heart shaped belt loop with a sun face in a triangle with three stars/suns around it. Above that is a symbol I am not familiar with but looks like a tree of life. And more stars/suns around that. The body of the scabbard is marked with various provinces and names and what looks like a shooting sun or star marking. On the raised carved section in the lower half of the scabbard is the date January 15th in Spanish and then 32nd US Vols which stands for 32nd US Volunteers which served in the Philippines from 1898-1901. At the very bottom of the scabbard is a snake head. The sword and blade fit perfectly in this scabbard so definitely made for this blade and the iconography is strong and seems to be Katipunan in nature.
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Great sword Rick- if I had the resources, I would definitely buy that! =)
I believe that this particular sword may be any of 3 things:
1. The sword of a Spanish-aligned military personnel (probably with significant rank) that defected to the First Republic. He brought his standard-issued sword with him as he defected, then had this populated with Katipunan symbols to declare his allegiance.
2. The sword of a principalia that supported / participated in the First Republic forces as a ranking officer.
3. A sword looted from a Spanish-aligned military personnel that fell in the Katipunan insurrection, then the new owner populated it with Katipunan symbols.
The American unit provenance on the sword may indicate that this sword was later acquired/looted by American forces, thus adding further to its history.