The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 24, 2025

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 extending up in a diagonal line, patterned with organic curls above and a shorter side, carved with three lines, below. Three braided bands wrap around the upper half of the hilt while, below, a band above the hilt is covered in warping, organic designs.

Sword (Barong)

before 1916

Philippines

Blade: metal; handle: metal with silver foil and repoussé work; pommel: ivory and carabao horn
Overall: 65.5 cm (25 13/16 in.); Blade: 42.2 cm (16 5/8 in.)
Gift of J. H. Wade 1916.729
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

The ovular shape on the ivory pommel’s base marks where the nerve of the tooth was.

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 hilt terminates in an exceptionally long ivory cockatoo (kakatua) pommel, carved with delicate okir scrollwork. This was an object of authority, status, and ceremonial presence within Tausug culture, probably owned by a member of the datu ruling class.
  • ?–1916
    Mr. Jeptha Homer Wade II [1857–1926], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Sword (Barong)|url=false|author=|year=before 1916|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.729