191
Rare 19th C. Archaic Philippine Sulu Moro KRIS Sword ~ Very Fine Twistcore Damascus Blade.
Estimate:
$800 - $1,200
Sold
$850
Live Auction
Important May 8th Collection of Asian Arms, Part I
Description
This is a classic sword of the Moro people of the southern Philippines and of the Sulu Sea areacalled a kris. The classic Moro kris is based heavily on the Indonesian keris but is distinctlylarger and made purposefully for fighting. The kris has always been the most famous of allMoro weapons and there are a wide set of variation of blade types, handle forms, and materials.Generally all kris blades are wide at the base, double-edged, and can be waved, half-waved halfstraight,or straight in which case they were more practical in combat. Older kris had fewerwaves and the waves were deeper and wider. The higher number of waves meant the morepotent the kris was in talismanic power such as this example. Higher quality kris would be madeof a special type of forging called twistcore by especially skilled Pandays, Moro bladesmiths.Twistcore blades were formed through stacking a set of a set of iron rods that would each betwisted, and depending upon the ultimate pattern desired, the rods be twisted either to the left orright or allowed to remain straight along the length of the rod. Rods with matching orcomplementary twist patterns could be installed side-by-side into an iron billet which was thenforged into a sword blade. After grinding away the outer surfaces of the rods this would disclosea pattern in the iron (Jones). Moro swords with twistcore blades are uncommon and consideredsome of the highest quality Moro arms.This example in the Schmiedt Collection is a fine early example of an “archaic†form Moro kriswith a classic Sulu style kakatua form pommel. This form of kris with deeper waved blades,almost always with a kakatua pommel, and often in richly patterned wood with chatoyancy areconsidered “archaic†or 18th to 19th century forms (Cato 1996). The handle of the kris in plaitedtwine or jute, with silver bands including an octagonal form at the base of the handle that is adistinctive Sulu stylistic attribute. A more ornate Sulu kris is illustrated in Wetzler (2020) andwhich has this similar angularity to the grip. The 7 luk blade is a superb example of a twistcorestyle blade with an archaic shape indicated by the fullering at the base of the blade, the ganja,and the general twist core pattern. While the style is in the archaic form, archaic blades oftendisplay softer wave crests while the base crest on this blade is more angular in form andtherefore pushes this example into the 19th century as opposed to an 18th century dating.19th century.Total Length (inside scabbard if present) : Blade Length : References:1. Cato, R. (1996) Moro swords. Graham Brash: Singapore2. Barados, D., (1995) Land of the Morning: Treasures of the Philippines, San FranciscoCraft & Folk Museum, 1995.3. Casal, G. et al, (1981) The People and Art of the Philippines, UCLA Museum ofCultural History4. Krieger, H. W. (1926). The collection of primitive weapons and armor of thePhilippine islands in the United States National museum. Washington: Govt. Print.Off.5. Macao Museum of Art. (2007). History of Steel in East Asia. Macao Museum of Art.Macau6. Wetzler, S. (2020) Steel and Magic. Edged Weapons of the Malay Archipelago.Edition Fichter, Frankfurt am Main7. Jones, L. Blade Patterns Intrinsic to Steel Edged Weapons.Detailed condition reports are not included in this catalog. For additional information, including condition reports, please contact us at info@sofedesignauctions.com