Sword (Barong) (c. 1800s): Art, History and Details

Sword (Barong) (c. 1800s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This sword has a broad, leaf-shaped blade characteristic of the Sulu Archipelago. Its profile suggests it was used for powerful cut-and-slash fighting. The ivory pommel, inlaid with black hardwood, takes the form of a stylized cockatoo (kakatua). This feature, along with the finely worked horn grip, indicates that this was a prestige weapon owned by a member of the warrior nobility.

Object facts

• Title: Sword (Barong)
• Date: c. 1800s
• Culture: Philippines
• Type: Arms and Armor
• Technique: Blade: steel; handle: silver with braided wire; pommel: ivory with carabao horn inlay
• Dimensions: Overall: 64.2 cm (25 1/4 in.); Blade: 42 cm (16 9/16 in.)
• Collection: Oceanic Art
• Department: Oceania
• Accession number: 1916.754

A detail from the museum

The grip is made of carabao horn, a draft animal similar to the water buffalo.

Collection credit

Gift of J. H. Wade

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.