Philipines Islamic Kris

Islamic Kris with Silver & Copper Mounts

This kris has the typical form of those of the Islamic southern Philippines. The hilt is encased in bands of silver and copper that have been engraved with Islamic-inspired scrolling vegetal motifs, as well as bands of twisted silver wire, all separated by bands of pearled wire.

The pommel is fully encased in sheet silver and partly engraved. It is in the form of a stylised parrot.

The scabbard is of wood and is decorated with five bands of silver, two of which have been engraved with scrolling motifs. The wooden top of the scabbard has the classic ‘boat’ shape.

The blade is of steel and of the wavy type and has been decorated down its length to both sides with steel plugs. The blade guard is decorated with numerous serrations and designs and has two silver ‘stirrups’ to each side which are engraved with a cross hatched motif and several dots.

The kris is in fine condition and is heavy-in-the hand. The blade fits snugly into the scabbard without gaps.

The kris was probably introduced to the Sulu Archipelago by Bugis merchants whose ancestral lands are in south Sulawesi but who settled and travelled across what is today Indonesia and the southern Malay Pensinsula. Krises are supposed to have talismanic properties – certainly those of Java, Bali and other parts of Indonesia – are imbued with magical properties. But in Sulu and Mindanao, they developed into heavier and more lethal fighting forms. They also symbolised power and prestige and so became weapons of war and ceremony. They were used by the Tuasug, Yakan, Sama Tausug, Maranao and Maguindanao peoples of the Sulu and Mindanao Sultanates.

Afable, P., et al, Philippines: an Archipelago of Exchange, ACTES SUD/ Musee du Quai Branly, 2013.

Casal, G.

et al, The People and Art of the Philippines, UCLA Museum of Cultural History, 1981.

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