Moro Kris with Twist Core

[philkid]

Hi George, very nice Moro keris you got there. I personally sell Moro swords for some time now and haven't seen something like it. May I ask where did you get this beauty?

Regards
Charles

[Battara]

Philkid, I have been thinking about what you have said for a while now. I think one of the reasons you have not seen the twist core there anymore is that probably most of them are under ground buried with the dead of the Moro-American Wars and the rest were taken at the turn of the century by Americans. This may be why we see more of them here in the US (and more of the fossil molar ivory pommeled Moro pieces, few that exist).

[kai]

Hi Battara & Charles,

I do believe that there are still quite a few quality pieces in Moroland (and the Philippines in general). However, they will usually be closely guarded family treasures and not available to the public (for several valid reasons ), and pretty unlikely to change hands. Whereas "souvenirs" brought back by soldiers may be appreciated by the person who obtained it but more rarely enter true family heritage status. So, when grandpa dies, stuff gets sold off. That's a good thing since these real pieces of history will hopefully end up with sincere collectors with genuine interest in Moro art & culture and the knowledge to take care of these treasures. I'd expect that, in the future, more and more kris will be acquired and brought back into the Philippines (as has been happening with precious Japanese and Chinese blades).

Regards,
Kai

[Spunjer]

philkid,

i'm with battara on this one. for starters, it appears to be that the twisted core is not a common type of kris. i also believe that whatever's left there (swords in general) are closely guarded family secret. i was informed by my uncle (by marriage) who's a muslim, that there'a a belief among the moro people that to part with pusakas (heirlooms) are considered very bad luck. i'm not saying everyone believe in this, but for the few (and i mean, very few!) that sell their family heirloom anyway, the chances of it having a twisted core like the one above is very, very slim...

[George]

Hi Charles (philkid),

I am not sure of the history of this piece but a friend of mine who knows of my interest in well made pieces of steel got me this one. He's in California. He's not a dealer but is always looking for those interesting pieces whether for himself or for anyone he knows who would have interest.

George

[kai]

Originally Posted by Spunjer

it appears to be that the twisted core is not a common type of kris.

My point was that these fancy kris were limited to the more affluent non-commoners. These are more likely to have been able to protect their property (if they managed to survive the actual battles) and also less likely to be forced to sell off heirlooms by pure financial necessity later on. They may also be more likely (to be able) to hold to Moro traditions than really poor people who have to concentrate on mere survival in a changing world...

That pretty much fits with what we see: workhorse kris seem to come available locally (especially from Mindanao) on a regular basis whereas more fancy kris are pretty rare - coming out of the vendors backrooms only if deemed profitable. Thus, I'm not disputing that it's more likely to come across twisted core kris (and other fancy kris) in the US. However, I don't think that this is because there are very few left in Moroland though.

Regards,
Kai