Silkreeler, it is somewhere between very difficult and downright impossible to put an age on a keris blade. The dress is often easier, but the blades are really, really difficult.
We have the tangguh system, which can sometimes help a bit, but it is far from perfect, and it relies on a number of assumptions --- very shaky, very flexible, very easily manipulated assumptions --- that True Believers will use to give an age to a blade. The age given must be regarded as an expression of faith.
Very old blades that have been removed from their society of origin and placed into a museum cabinet can look as if they came off the work bench yesterday.
Deliberately falsified blades can look as if they are 500 years old or more.
A very experienced person can often provide a fairly reliable estimate of age of a blade if he actually has it in his hand, but to guess age of a blade from a photo is in many, if not most cases a very unwise exercise in which to engage.
Solo in Central Jawa could well be regarded as the World Center of Keris Culture.
There used to be a man who lived there who was regarded as one of the greatest and most knowledgeable authorities on Javanese art in general, and on keris in particular. His keris collection was world famous, and he assisted a number of people both from within Indonesia, and from outside Indonesia, in their efforts to understand and to write about Javanese art. He was a high ranking member of the Karaton Surakarta Hierarchy and he was instrumental in the rebirth of Javanese keris culture.
In short, he had about as much knowledge and experience in the keris as it was possible for any person to have.
He was very well known to keris dealers and his attraction to genuine, old keris of unusual forms was a legend. Several very talented forgers made a lot of money by providing him with exactly what he wanted.
Ordinary collectors in the Western World are never exposed to the level of expertise that skilled Javanese forgers possess. They are safe from this because they do not spend the sort of money on keris that these forgers need to produce their best efforts.
However, if a man who was one of the best in his field could be fooled by dishonest dealers and forgers, what hope do any of us have when it comes to trying to gauge the age of a keris?
And from a photo?
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