Maranao Sundang

[Spunjer]

Originally Posted by nacho

Yes, that's exactly how many of the blades in the exhibit looked like -- polished blades like stainless steel. I guess they must been polished to make them look nice for the exposition and then kept all these years. That's why they look that way.

I also collect ivory santos and we know that 100 year-old ivory kept inside a glass virina can look new and without the yellowing we call patina. I guess for 100 year-old kris pommels, the same thing can be expected. Meaning they can look new if kept/stored all these years.

nacho,
not necessary polished, but rather it looked like that to begin with. reason i said that is because the same krises i posted above, there were pictures taken of the same swords by the original collector before it left the philippines, and it looked exactly the same, without any hint of being etched. here are some other ones. notice how shiny the one third from the top is:

wow, i would live to see that collection! i only saw the same five or six that was displayed in the old museum.
nacho, if you can take some pics and post it here, it would be most appreciated. i did try to take pics of the ones in the old museum but i wasn't allowed, lol..