Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

A. G. Maisey · 15th February 2022, 08:30 PM

I've held back on comment on this keris.

My reason is that I've been waiting for somebody comment and offer an opinion on the weird grain in the metal.

I'm wondering is we might have a material that varies from the usual externally sourced iron from China.

Maybe wootz?

There have been examples of wootz being used in keris blades.

As for origin, not a lot to go on, but I lean to Banten. That distinct odo-odo (ada-ada) running the full length of the blade does not occur in many classifications, and in view of the obvious age of this keris, and its placement outside Jawa, I reckon Banten might be a pretty fair guess.

15th February 2022, 08:30 PM	#19
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,708	I've held back on comment on this keris. My reason is that I've been waiting for somebody comment and offer an opinion on the weird grain in the metal. I'm wondering is we might have a material that varies from the usual externally sourced iron from China. Maybe wootz? There have been examples of wootz being used in keris blades. As for origin, not a lot to go on, but I lean to Banten. That distinct odo-odo (ada-ada) running the full length of the blade does not occur in many classifications, and in view of the obvious age of this keris, and its placement outside Jawa, I reckon Banten might be a pretty fair guess.