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Sword (Kalis or Sundang)
before 1916
- Medium
- Blade: metal; handle: metal with silver wire; pommel: silver
- Classification
- Arms and Armor
- Dimensions
- 66.4 x 12.6 cm (26 1/8 x 4 15/16 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
The kalis is one of the most recognizable bladed weapons of Muslim Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago and was both a weapon and a symbol of rank and honor. This long, double-edged steel blade features continuous undulations from base to tip. Among the Maranao and Maguindanao people, sword making was a specialized craft requiring collaboration among blacksmiths (panday), carvers, and metalsmiths.
