Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

David · 8th September 2012, 05:34 PM

I was also watching this with some interest, especially because of this beautiful blade. What i was wondering about is the hilt and when it might have been made. I have not seen many figurative copper hilts from Bali. It seems like an unusual metal to use with a keris of this quality. The "jewels" look much more like glass to me than the precious rubies the seller claimed them to be, but that's hard to tell from the photos. Of course, not at all unusual to see pastes used on high-end Bali keris as the Balinese saw nothing wrong with placing fake gems next to real if the effect was right. But i still have a feeling that this blade if more likely early 1900s and the hilt much later. Still a very attractive piece.

8th September 2012, 05:34 PM	#7
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,054	I was also watching this with some interest, especially because of this beautiful blade. What i was wondering about is the hilt and when it might have been made. I have not seen many figurative copper hilts from Bali. It seems like an unusual metal to use with a keris of this quality. The "jewels" look much more like glass to me than the precious rubies the seller claimed them to be, but that's hard to tell from the photos. Of course, not at all unusual to see pastes used on high-end Bali keris as the Balinese saw nothing wrong with placing fake gems next to real if the effect was right. But i still have a feeling that this blade if more likely early 1900s and the hilt much later. Still a very attractive piece.