Thanks for digging up these old threads Rick. When we come back from that "dinner" we should all be pretty full.
Mykeris says "seeing is believing". I don't really see how. First of all, photos only tell so much. Any real analysis of any keris needs a hands-on examination, especially when it is the intended goal of the forger to deceive. Second, who's to say we will be looking at photos of true keris buda anyway. Famous, well established museums have had so-called masterpieces in their collections for years before finding them to be forgeries. Who's to say this isn't the case with those presented by well known authorities in the field. Their mistakes have often been pointed out in this very forum. Some scholars doubt the authenticity of the keris of Knaud, which has for years been touted as the oldest known keris blade (though it has mysteriuosly disappeared and only photographs remain). Even so there are really very few "authenticated" keris buda in existence. If i owned one i might just think twice before posting it on the forum so that forgers could get a real good look at it and improve on their forgeries.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't really out to get you.
Perhaps it would be safer to look at the countless forgeries and explain why we believe them to be so.
