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Sword (Kalis or Sundang)
before 1916
- Medium
- Blade: metal; grip: brass ferrule and silver wire; pommel: ivory
- Classification
- Arms and Armor
- Dimensions
- Overall: 79.8 cm (31 7/16 in.); Blade: 60.4 x 3.9 cm (23 3/4 x 1 9/16 in.); Handle: 18 x 20 x 7.8 cm (7 1/16 x 7 7/8 x 3 1/16 in.)
- Culture
- Philippines, Mindanao
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Oceania
- Credit line
- Gift of J. H. Wade
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
This sword features a long kalis blade with a straight profile and deep fuller running nearly the entire length. The hilt terminates in an enormous ivory pommel, a prestige marker associated with high-ranking ownership in the Sulu and Lake Lanao regions. The commanding blade, functional and symbolic clamps, silver-braided grip, and pommel identify this as an exceptional example of elite Moro weaponry used among the Tausug or Maranao groups in the southern Philippines.
