Williams Gallery West Collectibles - Swords, Knives, Spears and other weapons

SOLD

Early 20th century Philippine War Spear #1

collected in 1938

  Steel head mounted on bamboo shaft.  Probably a Moro war spear. Shaft has 5 bamboo segments, and tapers slightly toward the butt of the spear. Tightly woven rattan binding coated with resin or pitch.

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Very Good Condition.  Blade has some surface rust, but is solid and sharp.  Shaft is in good condition with some cracking underneath rattan, and a drill hole about 12 inches from the butt of the shaft from display.  

Dimensions - total length 59 1/2 inches - blade length 8 1/4 inches - diameter of shaft - approx 1" tapering to 13/16" at base

Historical Note

The spear was formerly in general use throughout the Philippines. The wooden spear or one with a bamboo blade gradually lost vogue as the supply of iron became cheap and plentiful enough to serve as a substitute material. Among the tribal groups of the southern islands the customary method of fastening the spear head to the shaft is by socketing. The spear or lance head has usually an iron ferrule attached to the neck constriction. Into this opening the sharpened shaft end is inserted.

As a spear once thrown at an enemy can with difficulty be recovered it is sometimes customary to carry the spears in pairs - one for throwing at the adversary early in the fight while the other is retained for hand-to-hand fighting. Although tribal usage varies, it is generally understood that the fighting or war spears differ in their workmanship from spears for hunting and fishing, the latter being usually lighter in weight and longer shafted, while the shafts of the war spears, especially in the Bagobo country where they are not barbed, are elaborately ornamented with figured brass, silver and braided rattan.

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