Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

David · 24th January 2016, 08:34 PM

Hopefully we can all take a breathe here for a moment before continuing....

There, that's better.

Mr. Hansen started this post announcing that he is way out of his collecting area and asking what it is that he has. I believe we are all capable of being both honest AND nice in our responses.
I agree generally with Henk's opinions here, though for me personally i would not bother with a keris missing its gonjo unless the rest of the blade was interesting enough to warrant the work to replace the part. Replacing a gonjo may not be that difficult for some, but it isn't like picking up a replacement mendak. It needs to be forged specifically for the blade.
The keris on the right is probably the keeper here, though it is not an extraordinary blade and seems to be some serious losses to the "bow of the boat" on the wrongko (sheath). It otherwise seems like a fairly original and complete antique piece. And yes, the hilt should be turn 180º around for a proper orientation.
Now for the center Bali keris. The dress is post 1960 tourist style. This may make it collectable if one feels the need to include such dress in their collections and their is an argument for it having such a place i suppose. The blade seems a bit older, but as has been pointed out, it is not a good Bali blade and it does indeed appear that its pamor has been augmented at some latter date with a surface treatment to give the impression that this keris has more going for it than it does in actuality. Harry, while no one should knock anyone else for their opinions here it would be to your benefit to shake off any offense and take note that this is, in fact, not a very good keris for the above stated reasons. It was augmented to deceive and not a particularly good example of Balinese keris arts to begin with.
Gentlemen, we must all remember that members are here to learn and that there is no expected knowledge level for any participant on this forum. Hopefully we live, we look, we listen, we learn.

24th January 2016, 08:34 PM	#9
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,027	Hopefully we can all take a breathe here for a moment before continuing.... There, that's better. Mr. Hansen started this post announcing that he is way out of his collecting area and asking what it is that he has. I believe we are all capable of being both honest AND nice in our responses. I agree generally with Henk's opinions here, though for me personally i would not bother with a keris missing its gonjo unless the rest of the blade was interesting enough to warrant the work to replace the part. Replacing a gonjo may not be that difficult for some, but it isn't like picking up a replacement mendak. It needs to be forged specifically for the blade. The keris on the right is probably the keeper here, though it is not an extraordinary blade and seems to be some serious losses to the "bow of the boat" on the wrongko (sheath). It otherwise seems like a fairly original and complete antique piece. And yes, the hilt should be turn 180º around for a proper orientation. Now for the center Bali keris. The dress is post 1960 tourist style. This may make it collectable if one feels the need to include such dress in their collections and their is an argument for it having such a place i suppose. The blade seems a bit older, but as has been pointed out, it is not a good Bali blade and it does indeed appear that its pamor has been augmented at some latter date with a surface treatment to give the impression that this keris has more going for it than it does in actuality. Harry, while no one should knock anyone else for their opinions here it would be to your benefit to shake off any offense and take note that this is, in fact, not a very good keris for the above stated reasons. It was augmented to deceive and not a particularly good example of Balinese keris arts to begin with. Gentlemen, we must all remember that members are here to learn and that there is no expected knowledge level for any participant on this forum. Hopefully we live, we look, we listen, we learn.