What's it worth? Appraisal of tourist issue tribal weapons

Hello,

I have a set of possible headhunter weapons brought back at the end of the Korean War by an Air Force officer.  This was given as a gift to his brother and all those parties are now deceased and his son now is in possession and has brought it in to us to sell for him. 

The original purchaser had access to all the islands in S.E. Asia because he was a pilot and regularly flew around the area.  We are not sure if the box was built by him to transport this set or even if this is a set.  The bow and arrows are bamboo but we are unsure of the other pieces.  The metal looks like it was hand hammered and filed.  The spear has a hand grooved wooden screw. 

We are not sure of the age but we think it was early 1900’s.  We have searched around online for other pieces similar to this one and have not been able to identify the origin or any clues to where it comes from or what it’s value is.  Any help you can provide us in identifying and valuating these pieces would be greatly appreciated.



AW: Actually I believe the box is original. What we have here is a post WWII tribal weaponry display that is a kind of tourist version. 

The reason we know this is:

The lack of aged patina

The collar on the knife was quickly done, and the fact that the tine does not go through the handle all the way. The screw for the spear shaft to break down into two parts is something no authentic tribesman would have executed. It was made this way to break down for the box, and/or to compact for travel. 

The artwork is too fresh and the lines on all the pieces are too sharp, and indicate modern era work.

Circa: Post WWII

• Retail value: $150- $225 for the set
• Wholesale value: $75-$95
• Quick Sale: $50

Keywords: 

• Tribal weaponry
• South Pacific
• Bow and Arrow
• Spear