A T'boli or Bagobo Kampillan???

CharlesS · 12th September 2014, 04:48 PM

I saw this piece on it Ebay and it immediately caught my eye as it appealed to my fascination with cross cultural pieces. My biggest worry was that it might be a new piece like some others coming out of the Philippines now. Once I got it in hand that worry was put to rest as the piece is clearly old...I am guessing the first quarter of the 20th century. The blade showed old and active rust. This hilt was filthy with old dust and dirt and the brass/bronze guard was practically black, with some green patina. The hilt's wrapped cording was partially dry rotted.

I gave it a mild clean-up to at least get rid of the active rust and the superficial dirt and green patination and highlight the raised areas of the guard. I also acted to try to preserve what was left of the 2 hilt wrap cordings.

The piece immediately reminds one of a Moro kampillan, and no doubt takes its overall concept from the kampillan, but once you get into the details, especially regarding the hilt, it bares little resemblance to a Moro version. Only the modest wave motive carved on the hilt hints at Moro aesthetics, perhaps along with the circular motif.

The blade is just slightly shorter and lighter than a Moro kampillan and shows a very well defined heat treated area. Note the chiseled motifs to the spine.

The oddly shaped brass/bronze guard has a knuckle protector and is cast with the lost wax method. It is attached to a wooden hilt and pommel carved to host two rows of brass rings to the bottom(these being carved almost identically to what we might see on a Bagobo scabbard) and one row to the top, with 4 at the end of the pommel.

Overall length: 37in.
Blade length: 27in.
Overall hilt length: 10in.
Brass guard: 2in. wide and the actual guard is 4.5in. from top to bottom.

The first few pics here show the piece in its original condition. The last few are after a mild clean-up.

So, is this T'boli?? Bagobo??...I suppose we could even suggest that it is a Moro variant, but I would have a hard time buying that as the hilt simply diverges too much from Moro styles.

I am anxious to hear the opinions of other Moro and Philippine weapons collectors!!

12th September 2014, 04:48 PM	#1
CharlesS Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greenville, NC Posts: 1,855	A T'boli or Bagobo Kampillan??? I saw this piece on it Ebay and it immediately caught my eye as it appealed to my fascination with cross cultural pieces. My biggest worry was that it might be a new piece like some others coming out of the Philippines now. Once I got it in hand that worry was put to rest as the piece is clearly old...I am guessing the first quarter of the 20th century. The blade showed old and active rust. This hilt was filthy with old dust and dirt and the brass/bronze guard was practically black, with some green patina. The hilt's wrapped cording was partially dry rotted. I gave it a mild clean-up to at least get rid of the active rust and the superficial dirt and green patination and highlight the raised areas of the guard. I also acted to try to preserve what was left of the 2 hilt wrap cordings. The piece immediately reminds one of a Moro kampillan, and no doubt takes its overall concept from the kampillan, but once you get into the details, especially regarding the hilt, it bares little resemblance to a Moro version. Only the modest wave motive carved on the hilt hints at Moro aesthetics, perhaps along with the circular motif. The blade is just slightly shorter and lighter than a Moro kampillan and shows a very well defined heat treated area. Note the chiseled motifs to the spine. The oddly shaped brass/bronze guard has a knuckle protector and is cast with the lost wax method. It is attached to a wooden hilt and pommel carved to host two rows of brass rings to the bottom(these being carved almost identically to what we might see on a Bagobo scabbard) and one row to the top, with 4 at the end of the pommel. Overall length: 37in. Blade length: 27in. Overall hilt length: 10in. Brass guard: 2in. wide and the actual guard is 4.5in. from top to bottom. The first few pics here show the piece in its original condition. The last few are after a mild clean-up. So, is this T'boli?? Bagobo??...I suppose we could even suggest that it is a Moro variant, but I would have a hard time buying that as the hilt simply diverges too much from Moro styles. I am anxious to hear the opinions of other Moro and Philippine weapons collectors!! Attached Images Last edited by CharlesS; 12th September 2014 at 05:03 PM.