Artwork Page for Sword (Barong)

Details / Information for Sword (Barong)

Sword (Barong)

c. 1800s

Philippines

Medium
Blade: steel; handle: silver with braided wire; pommel: ivory with carabao horn inlay
Measurements
Overall: 64.2 cm (25 1/4 in.); Blade: 42 cm (16 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of J. H. Wade 1916.754
Public Domain
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Location
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Did You Know?

The grip is made of carabao horn, a draft animal similar to the water buffalo.

Description

This sword has a broad, leaf-shaped blade characteristic of the Sulu Archipelago. Its profile suggests it was used for powerful cut-and-slash fighting. The ivory pommel, inlaid with black hardwood, takes the form of a stylized cockatoo (kakatua). This feature, along with the finely worked horn grip, indicates that this was a prestige weapon owned by a member of the warrior nobility.
Barong, a single-edged, leaf-shaped sword, with a striated silver metal blade occasionally tarnished with specks of dark-brown. A cylindrical bronze handle curves to one side, capped with an ivory colored piece like a narrow strip extending across the top in a diagonal line. Three braided bands wrap around the upper half of the hilt.

Sword (Barong)

c. 1800s

Philippines

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