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Old 10th June 2015, 08:46 AM   #2
kai
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,219
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Hello Max,

Welcome to the forum!


Quote:
I have come across an interesting Keris in Thailand with a Madura hilt/ Hulu but style Thai for the blade and the shield.
Close-ups of the blade would be good. From this pic I'd guess this blade to hail from Madura, too.


Just one more comment: While collected in Thailand, there doesn't seem to have ever been any kind of keris culture among the ethnic Thai. Granted, quite a few keris are on display in the Bangkok palaces and occasionally one might have been worn at court but apparently more as a curio item (most were likely diplomatic gifts or war booties).

Thus, I'd avoid to refer to a keris as being "Thai" (as in "style Thai" or "Thai influences"). If anything, these keris are (northern) Malay, ethnically. Keris from southern Thailand seems like a reasonable/neutral description; however, Pattani/etc. would be much more informative IMVHO. We all know that modern state boundaries usually are a result of accumulated historic "accidents" - OTOH we're discussing cultural artefacts here and, thus, focusing on the originating culture does help. Sorry for the rant...

Regards,
Kai
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