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Old 12th May 2019, 05:47 PM   #23
David
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey
I can see very little, if anything, of Bali in this blade. I do not see a current era blade, and I am inclined to the assumption that it is very probably of Lombok origin.

The wood in this scabbard would be impossible to obtain at the present time, and even another type of wood that was equal in quality would also be somewhere between difficult and impossible to obtain. This is nice dress on this keris, and it should be retained.
While i did at first suggest this keris might be "more" contemporary than not i did not intend to express that i thought it was new and i do agree with both Alan and Jean that it is not post WWII. I was think more early 20th century, but i am certainly willing to concede to more expert eyes that it may be older and yes, probably from Lombok.

As i mentioned before, this type of timoho pelet wood is considered very desirable. I would like to double down with Alan here and suggest that you not change out the dress on this keris. Despite the difficulties you would face trying to bring the keris both in and then out of Indonesia i definitely believe this dress is both appropriate for this blade as well as worth saving. You should not have too much difficulty adjusting the blade to fit better, especially if the stem is already disconnected from the top sheath. I also don't really see any indication in your photos that the uwer (again, it is not a mendak ) is hopelessly damaged. It should also clean up nicely with some scrubbing with a soft toothbrush.
I cannot emphasis more that as someone new to keri ownership it would be in your best interest to learn more about it before acting upon both cleaning and repair.
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