Cleveland Museum of Art

Scabbard

Date

1800s

Medium

Wood

Culture

Philippines, Mindanao

Department

Oceania

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This wooden scabbard was produced to house a barong blade, probably for a Maranao or Tausug community. It was carved from a single piece of hardwood, tapering toward the tip and widening slightly at the mouth. The upper section features scrolling okir motifs, while the rounded tip is decorated with finely pierced okir carving, forming a lacelike pattern characteristic of the Islamic groups of the southern Philippines. The two halves of this scabbard are glued—instead of lashed—together.

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