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Old 6th November 2012, 03:50 AM   #1
Battara
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Default Odd Visayan Ivory Kris Dagger?

This ended on ebay. I wonder if it is Visayan due to the nature of the wavy blade and the cross hatching on the back of the ivory hilt. The coin guard is 19th century Spanish silver. What puzzles me even more is the face carving pommel. Many Visayan hilts have faces carved into them and so does this one. However this face looks to be of Chinese influence to me.

It is a small dagger - what do you think?
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Old 6th November 2012, 03:51 AM   #2
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Some more pictures:
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Old 6th November 2012, 05:34 AM   #3
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I'm with you, Jose. It looks visayan. The face is similar to the "demon" designs (actually probably a stylized representation of the chinese fu dog) found in very old Philippine altar tables. The design is also seen in stone (in catholic churches). It is believe chinese artisans carved these decorations. That's why your blade handle also has a chinese feel.

The coin is the type commonly seen from the Spanish-era in the Philippines.

Here is another visayan sword with similar face, and also in ivory (or some kind of bone).
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Old 6th November 2012, 06:05 AM   #4
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Here is another one with that hilt variation from the Military Museum in Madrid.
I have studied another one, like the one below, in a US collection and the face grip details of this kind of sword and your kris above are quite similar.

Michael
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Old 6th November 2012, 10:22 AM   #5
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The coin is intriguing. There are two Chinese characters on it. One is "Ta" and the other "Tien."
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Old 6th November 2012, 10:59 AM   #6
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The Chinese characters on the coin is perhaps evidence that the anthropomorphic design is originally Chinese (????), but not necessarily the same as the Visayan anthropomorphic design which may have a different origin.

Finding out what "ta" (big) and "tien" (sky) represents and why they were added to the Spanish coin may give a clue regarding the history of this dagger. The coin experts may know.

I am inclined to agree with Nacho that the hilt was perhaps made by Chinese artisans based outside China.
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