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Originally Posted by Sajen
I would personally prefer an untouched keris when it will be possible to get it in a not rusted condition and with solid dress. I have a very few of this in my collection. The most have received a good cleaning and new staining of the blades and many times also restore work by the dress. But to collect keris with a complete rusted blade and a dress in sad condition is strange IMVHO. But your pictures show many well kept keris so it seems that there in Malaysia the collectors have different views about this topic.  |
I agree Sajen. I also like to find untouched keris in relatively old dress
when the dress is in good condition, though i have been told many times that this penchant for old dress is indeed more of a Western collector's desire. When dress parts such as mendaks, pendoks or even hilts are in poor condition i generally do not hesitate to replace them though. It has been my understanding that keeping keris in old dress simply to maintain the antiqueness of older forms is not the tradition in Jawa, especially if that dress is in bad repair and would be considered disrespectful to the keris itself. This is not a Western concept AFAIK. My worry about rust on blades runs deeper though as it is most certainly damaging to the integrity of the blade itself. Different region obviously deal with their keris in different ways.