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Old 19th December 2018, 03:35 AM   #22
A. G. Maisey
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Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6,698
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David, the points that I listed were not intended as indicators, but rather as "anti-indicators".

What I was trying to say was that these are things that I understand as being inarguably true, and that if I accept them as inarguably true, then it becomes pretty close to impossible for me to form an opinion in respect of Gustav's blade from only a picture.

I would consider your blade as having that slight curve in the face of the gandhik.

Is your blumbangan horizontally elongated? I am unable to form an opinion.

If I were to be shown a photo of a section of blade and asked where the blade might have come from, based on only the nature of the pamor, I think I would probably say East Jawa.

Show me only the gandhik I would say West Jawa to North Coast.

Blumbangan only, West Jawa to North Coast.

Greneng, anywhere across Jawa.

The tikel alis is what in Central Jawa is known as an old style tikel alis, not related to a geographic location, but related to period in time.

Jean's 37mm parameter is not one that I can have an opinion upon either one way or the other, I have never seen a sufficient number of keris blades that were definitely of Sumatran manufacture to be able to establish any sort of length parameter.

Your keris and Gustav's keris look very similar in the photos, neither keris appears to be particularly old, they are both in dress that in your case looks definitely Palembang, in Gustav's case it seems as if it could be Palembang. Two very similar keris, both in dress that seems to be able to be related to the same area? I don't know what I am looking at. I could come up with several hypotheticals, but I'm not going to do that because in my mind these constructed explanations really serve no purpose except to confuse.

Based upon what I believe I can see in these photographs I am unable to provide a supportable opinion on the origin of either of these blades, there are too many unknowns.

As a complete keris there can be no doubt that your keris is Palembang, but knowing what we do about the blades used in Palembang keris, is it possible to be certain that either your blade or Gustav's were actually made in Palembang?
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