Moro kris: Information/Comments welcome!

[Battara]

The blade looks Sulu while the scabbard looks Maranao. The little okir I can see beneath one of the bands also looks Maranao. Not unheard of, lots of trade between these regions.

[Rick]

The scabbard looks well carved .
Can we see a picture or two of the recarved crest area please ?

[Maurice]

Oops! Forgot to upload the image of the crest I referred to!

Here it comes Rick!

[Battara]

By the way, the metal bands look more like tarnished silver, not brass.

[Sajen]

Hi Maurice,

very nice old kris also when the crest of the pommel is missing. Hope that I can own one day such a nice kris! Do you have tried to polish the metal?

Regards,

Detlef

[Maurice]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Hi Maurice,

very nice old kris also when the crest of the pommel is missing. Hope that I can own one day such a nice kris! Do you have tried to polish the metal?

Regards,

Detlef

Hi Sajen,

I like the broken crest where the old restore is visible.
I rather like them this way and don't want it to be restored (but tastes differ).

I am sure that it is possible to find one. I was looking for this one for quite some years, and believe it or not, after chasing after morocollectors to get one like this, epray was the solution afterall....

I didn't polish the metal, I just sanded the blade to get rid of the surficial rust and black spots/pitting.
I attached two more images of the cleaning/etching result.

Kind Regards,
Maurice

[Sajen]

Hi Maurice,

two missunderstandings!

I also like the pommel like this and also don't would like to restore it.

And by polish the metal I mean the bands at the pommel, try to polish only a small part where it is not visible direkt to see which metal you have there when you don't have silver test fluid.

[Maurice]

Originally Posted by Battara

By the way, the metal bands look more like tarnished silver, not brass.

Could it be some alloy?

On the bands in the middle (the two smaller onces) there are some traces of green assessment, which is also seen on those brass lantaka's.
But at the other hand the lowest one looks more "white".

Now I am in two minds......if it is silver I want it to get polished........and if it would be brass I like this kind of patina........

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Maurice

Could it be some alloy?

On the bands in the middle (the two smaller onces) there are some traces of green assessment, which is also seen on those brass lantaka's.
But at the other hand the lowest one looks more "white".

Now I am in two minds......if it is silver I want it to get polished........and if it would be brass I like this kind of patina........

Do you have silver test? This is a easy way to be sure. Otherwise try to polish only a small part which is not to seen direkt.

[Battara]

Originally Posted by Maurice

Could it be some alloy?

On the bands in the middle (the two smaller onces) there are some traces of green assessment, which is also seen on those brass lantaka's.
But at the other hand the lowest one looks more "white".

Now I am in two minds......if it is silver I want it to get polished........and if it would be brass I like this kind of patina........

Actually the silver used then and now is alloyed with copper. This is why sometimes on old silver pieces there is some green patina. Often back then there was even more copper content than what is commonly used today, often close to coin silver (today: sterling silver is used - 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper, coin silver is 80% silver and 20% copper).

Thus I am shocked that there would be some green patina. If brass, it is obvious, but if silver, don't be surprised that some green patina might be present.

[kai]

Hello Maurice,

Congrats, that's a really sweet 19th c. blade - really like this Sulu style! Quite typical with a length of 20.5 inches, too. Nice etching job!

Also love the small pommel style as you know...

Did you tried a bit of wax on the scabbard to get a less dry look of the wood? (As well as offering a bit of protection from the low-humidity in-house.)

Regards,
Kai

[kai]

By the way, the metal bands look more like tarnished silver, not brass.

IMHO, the patina looked slightly off for silver to me but on a second look it might well be a low silver alloy, too. The highlights seen at the rim of the pommel band (post #4) look kinda promising. I'd surely do a silver test at this area before polishing a window into the existing patina.

If brass, it is obvious, but if silver, don't be surprised that some green patina might be present.

Yes, especially in humid conditions some copper compounds easily develop from corrosion with coin silver (or even lower silver alloys).

Maurice, have you tried the "cold" needle test to gauge the malleability of the metal?

Regards,
Kai

[kai]

Hello Jose,

The blade looks Sulu while the scabbard looks Maranao. The little okir I can see beneath one of the bands also looks Maranao. Not unheard of, lots of trade between these regions.

Yes, seems like the blade found its way into Mindanao quite a long time ago - my guess would be that the hilt was already with the blade since the 19th c.

BTW, I remember that Maranao silverwork as found on hilts got exported to the Sulu archipelago, too. However, Sulu kris with imported Maranao parts would sport Sulu scabbards, no?

Regards,
Kai