The Kris or Keris is the most famous of the Moro weapons. Each Moro tribe (Philippines) has a slight variation of this weapon and they are a symbol of a man’s status in society as well as being a powerful talisman. Kris blades are wide at the base, double-edged, and often wavy. Older Kris had fewer waves, with the waves tending to be wider apart. As Kris became more symbolic and less for offence/defence, the waves became shallower, tighter, and more numerous. The higher the number of waves, the more potent a Kris’ talismanic power.
Moro Kris are cutting and slashing swords as opposed to the stabbing Kris of the Malay and Indonesians.
This late 19th Century/early 20th Century Moro Kris has a 420mm double-edged blade with five widely spaced waves along its edges. The blade has a flattened diamond cross section with a raised medial ridge running down to the point. Opposite the guard, with its wave-like fretwork on the forward edge, is the stylised representation of the beak of an eagle or mouth of a Naga, a mythical snake. The blade is in good clean condition and is very sharp. There are a few tiny patches of shallow pitting and tarnish and a few nicks along the forward edge, consistent with use.
The straight, slightly tapering hilt is made of a dark reddish brown hard wood. The pommel is in the form of a stylized bird head with beak and crest. The hilt is in good condition with a great patina. There is a small chip to the beak of the pommel. The base of the pommel has a white metal (probably silver) ring. The blade is firm in the hilt.
The Kris is complete with its original hard wood scabbard, made of two halves, bound together with rattan and plant fibre rope. The scabbard is in overall great condition. The mouth of the scabbard is missing a small piece and the colour of the edge indicates that this is period damage. The integrity of the scabbard is unaffected. Interestingly, unlike many Kris scabbards, this one intentionally leaves the guard and the stylised Naga mouth on display instead of sheathing them within an elongated scabbard mouth.
This is an interesting and collectable Moro Kris that until recently was on display in a museum in Suffolk, England.
