Maranao Datu? Kris

Ian · 23rd January 2005, 09:16 PM

Sorry to come in a little late on this one. Traveling again. Dan and I had a lot of fun doing the rounds in Manila a few weeks ago.

As Dan has said, this sword came from one of Manila's best edged weapon dealers with whom I have dealt for many years. Mr Ven had obtained it only a few days before we went to his shop, and this one came from the back room where he puts away expensive pieces for his local and international clients who can afford the better class items he finds.

Having handled this one, I am sure that the blade is 100+ years old. It has a separate gangya and a dark patina with no pitting, although a little active rust on the gangya (probably related to recent storage). The edge was straight and showed no dings or evidence of extensive wear/sharpening. Balance was good, and the blade felt lively despite being of quite heavy construction.

The pommel is old ivory, with prominent linear age cracks and a nice golden patina, and the silver appears to be older work also with wear from handling (as Dan stated).

The scabbard is probably a replacement, but a nicely made one none the less. Simple, well carved, nice dark patina to the wood, and silver fittings (or at least silver-plated). This is better than the recent work coming out of Mindanao, and looks circa WWII to me based on other examples I have that were well provenanced.

So I think Dan has acquired a nice Maranao kris with blade and hilt c. 1900 and scabbard perhaps somewhat later. Whether datu quality is hard to say. Certainly, much better than average in terms of the quality of fittings on the hilt.

The dealer also felt the blade was around 100 years old, but the scabbard was not as old.

Ian.

23rd January 2005, 09:16 PM	#26
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,367	Nice piece Dan ... Sorry to come in a little late on this one. Traveling again. Dan and I had a lot of fun doing the rounds in Manila a few weeks ago. As Dan has said, this sword came from one of Manila's best edged weapon dealers with whom I have dealt for many years. Mr Ven had obtained it only a few days before we went to his shop, and this one came from the back room where he puts away expensive pieces for his local and international clients who can afford the better class items he finds. Having handled this one, I am sure that the blade is 100+ years old. It has a separate gangya and a dark patina with no pitting, although a little active rust on the gangya (probably related to recent storage). The edge was straight and showed no dings or evidence of extensive wear/sharpening. Balance was good, and the blade felt lively despite being of quite heavy construction. The pommel is old ivory, with prominent linear age cracks and a nice golden patina, and the silver appears to be older work also with wear from handling (as Dan stated). The scabbard is probably a replacement, but a nicely made one none the less. Simple, well carved, nice dark patina to the wood, and silver fittings (or at least silver-plated). This is better than the recent work coming out of Mindanao, and looks circa WWII to me based on other examples I have that were well provenanced. So I think Dan has acquired a nice Maranao kris with blade and hilt c. 1900 and scabbard perhaps somewhat later. Whether datu quality is hard to say. Certainly, much better than average in terms of the quality of fittings on the hilt. The dealer also felt the blade was around 100 years old, but the scabbard was not as old. Ian.