Talismanic inscriptions on a Barong

Alam Shah · 10th March 2006, 01:26 PM

With that tag, I guess it's a giveaway from which auction...

The second picture, it might be "Dhu'l Faqar", the holy sword of Islam.

Refer to this thread for details on this sword...
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1923

ariel · 10th March 2006, 01:37 PM

I am not a collector or enthusiast of Moro swords, so please give me a slack.
The undulating snake with transverse lines reminds me of Persian motives.
Going totally on a limb, is it possible that the dog is a local "transcription" of a famous Passau mark? Many local blades from the Caucasus ("ters maimal")to E.Africa carried fake Passau marks as a testament to their quality.
Would it be possible that the maker of this Barong just went overboard and marked his creation with marks from all the best swords he knew: Passau, Persian and Zulfikar just as an equivalent of "Wow, look at it!"
And indeed, it is a very, very well made blade, something to be proud of.

VVV · 10th March 2006, 01:42 PM

Alam Shah,

Thanks for solving one of the symbols.
And I have removed the tag picture in my post above after "discreet" hints
from the Singapore group

And thanks to Ariel for your comments.
I am not that familiar with weapons from those areas so I have to do
some research on your suggestions.

Michael

Ian · 10th March 2006, 10:22 PM

Michael:

Thanks very much for showing this beautiful barung. In my experience it is rare to find extensive inlaid work on the blade of a barung. I have one example of a high end barung with inlaid brass designs -- our fellow Forumite, Battara, did an excellent restoration of that barung and there may still be pictures on this site. Other than my example, I don't recall more than a couple other barung that I have seen with inlaid designs.

Ian.

Here is the link to that thread on the old web site. Pictures are shown before and after restoration.

http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002259.html

VVV · 10th March 2006, 11:20 PM

Ian,

Thanks for sharing pictures of your great Barong!
And a fantastic work Battara!
A pity the geographical distance between us is so big.
I would love to have some of my weapons restored like that.
Unfortunately I would probably have to pay half of the value
just to bring them in to US and then back to Europe again.
Or spend a week in Customs filling out papers

Michael

kino · 12th March 2006, 04:59 PM

What a beauty. Congrats!

VVV · 12th March 2006, 05:29 PM

Thanks Kino,

Isn't there any forum member who recognise the "dog"
and the "naga" symbols from a Moro perspective?

Michael

10th March 2006, 10:22 PM	#4
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	Rare find Michael: Thanks very much for showing this beautiful barung. In my experience it is rare to find extensive inlaid work on the blade of a barung. I have one example of a high end barung with inlaid brass designs -- our fellow Forumite, Battara, did an excellent restoration of that barung and there may still be pictures on this site. Other than my example, I don't recall more than a couple other barung that I have seen with inlaid designs. Ian. Here is the link to that thread on the old web site. Pictures are shown before and after restoration. http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002259.html Last edited by Ian; 10th March 2006 at 10:31 PM. Reason: Added link to old thread

10th March 2006, 01:26 PM	#1
Alam Shah Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,248	With that tag, I guess it's a giveaway from which auction... The second picture, it might be "Dhu'l Faqar", the holy sword of Islam. Refer to this thread for details on this sword... http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=1923

10th March 2006, 01:37 PM	#2
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	I am not a collector or enthusiast of Moro swords, so please give me a slack. The undulating snake with transverse lines reminds me of Persian motives. Going totally on a limb, is it possible that the dog is a local "transcription" of a famous Passau mark? Many local blades from the Caucasus ("ters maimal")to E.Africa carried fake Passau marks as a testament to their quality. Would it be possible that the maker of this Barong just went overboard and marked his creation with marks from all the best swords he knew: Passau, Persian and Zulfikar just as an equivalent of "Wow, look at it!" And indeed, it is a very, very well made blade, something to be proud of.

10th March 2006, 01:42 PM	#3
VVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sweden Posts: 1,637	Alam Shah, Thanks for solving one of the symbols. And I have removed the tag picture in my post above after "discreet" hints from the Singapore group And thanks to Ariel for your comments. I am not that familiar with weapons from those areas so I have to do some research on your suggestions. Michael

10th March 2006, 11:20 PM	#5
VVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sweden Posts: 1,637	Ian, Thanks for sharing pictures of your great Barong! And a fantastic work Battara! A pity the geographical distance between us is so big. I would love to have some of my weapons restored like that. Unfortunately I would probably have to pay half of the value just to bring them in to US and then back to Europe again. Or spend a week in Customs filling out papers Michael

12th March 2006, 04:59 PM	#6
kino Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,018	What a beauty. Congrats!

12th March 2006, 05:29 PM	#7
VVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sweden Posts: 1,637	Thanks Kino, Isn't there any forum member who recognise the "dog" and the "naga" symbols from a Moro perspective? Michael