Box for cockfighting spur blades, Philippines, circa 1950

Box for cockfighting spur blades, Philippines, circa 1950.

Name: Philippine tribal box for gaff blades (tari)
Provenance: the Philippines, probably the Visayas region
Date: 20th century (circa 1950)
Material: Dark exotic wood with a patina (possibly kamagong or another local hardwood); oxidised steel (for the surviving blade)
Dimensions: 29 cm overall length
Description: A carved wooden object made of two sliding parts. The end is ornamented with the figure of a crouching woman. The interior has four compartments for holding the steel blades used in ritual cockfights (sabong).

Iconography: A female figure, nude and crouching, with stylised features. The pose may suggest waiting, meditation or a ritual attitude. The carving appears to have been made with both decorative and symbolic intent.
State of preservation: One blade survives, with signs of wear.
Function: Ethnographic, ritual and utilitarian
Notes: A rare representation. Possibly an apotropaic or symbolic role.

 Note: Similar objects, known locally as „gafas” (or „gaffs” in English), are particular to the Philippine culture of cockfighting, an activity with social and religious dimensions. Similar boxes appear in private collections and occasionally in sales of tribal and ethnographic art