Keris Hilt for comment
 

I saw this strange hilt fixed to a keris on ebay (auction ended) :Item number: 200266557412 Is this hilt common? Do anybody know what motif the hilt is? Regards, TQ

There is a Javanese style hilt of similar construction (stacked spheres) could this be a regional variation ?

This is interesting.

I first saw the Javanese style one on an old keris in a collection that had been bequeathed to the musium in the Mangkunegaraan in Solo. I later met an old m'ranggi who told me that the name of the style was Imam Bonjol, and that he had carved this style a few times before WWII.

Imam Bonjol was a 19th century hero in the struggle against Dutch colonialism.

He was from Sumatera.

I could never work out how a Javanese style hilt could finish up with the name of a Sumatran hero.

It looks to me as if the Javanese hilt is an adaptation of the Bugis type hilt we see in the ebay entry.

Thanks Rick, Maisey, its really interesting. Could it be another version of Kerdas form? :)