Good to see you here, Ismarsodo, and welcome.
Your proposal for an increase in serious discussion of recently made keris is in my opinion, well overdue. A long time ago there was a thread in our old forum that was directed at discussion of the elements that might be considered when a determination was being made as to whether a keris was "good", or "not good". The things that surfaced in this old thread are seldom, if ever, raised in discussion these days. There currently seems to be a fixation on whether or not a keris is "old", or in other words, "genuine", and thus of value, or whether it is "fake", meaning "recently produced".
It saddens me when I see these sort of comments, and I have virtually stopped giving any attention to threads that fail to regard keris which have been recently produced as a legitimate continuation of cultural expression.
Recently made keris can be some of the very finest expressions of keris art that have ever been produced. By "recent", I mean since WWII.
The vast bulk of older keris that become available on the open market are in most cases not much more than junk. Certainly an older piece of high quality can be a very satisfying thing to either see, or have custody of, but the simple fact of the matter is that there are very few older keris of high quality, and when they do become available the price is almost always very high.
If one prefers old junk rather than recent high quality, then that is of course always a matter of personal preference. However, if one is a student of the keris, then to ignore the quality that is available in recently produced keris is clearly an attitude that contributes to a failure to increase knowledge.
Possibly many people do not wish to become students of the keris, but merely collectors of keris. I would suggest that to indulge in collection of anything in the absence of attempts to increase knowledge in that subject is an almost certain way to suffer financial loss.
I do hope that this thread you have started will attract some serious attention.
|