Michel, it grieves me that you regard my remarks as harsh. I my feeling was that I was providing a gentle prompt that might cause a few people to begin to think about things other than the names that might be applicable to any particular form or design motif, if indeed the object under discussion was in fact of that form.
What I can see is a lot of people doing something that I myself once did, that I now consider to have been largely a waste of time.
However, this does depend upon what one's objective is in taking an interest in the keris.
If the objective is to accumulate a large number of keris of various forms, carrying various pamor motifs, with various iconic representations depicted in the blade carving, and from diverse areas of SE Asia, then the ability to affix names to each of those keris and to provide an approximation of age and point of origin is a worthwhile and necessary part of that person's interest.
However, if the objective is to create a collection of excellence, rather than a collection of diversity, then names and points of origin are really only of secondary interest. Possibly the collector who seeks excellence would serve his interests better by attempting to gain an understanding of the elements of quality in craft and artistic expression, as those concepts apply to the keris.
It may be that the interest of the person involved lays in attempting to gain an understanding of the origin and nature of the keris. If this is the case, then such a person needs to attempt to extend his learning and investigation into areas that may not seem to relate directly to the keris.
Ultimately the direction that one takes in pursuit of one's interest is one's own choice, and a reflection of one's own nature.
The person who wants a large, diverse collection is no more worthy of respect, nor of contempt, than the person who wants a collection which enshrines artistic excellence, and neither of these people are any more worthy of respect, nor of contempt, than the person who does not own a single keris, but who has an in depth understanding of the keris in Jawa during the 14th. Century.
In fact, the separate interests of each of these people supports the interest of each of the others. If the World of the Keris is viewed as a large organisation, an organisation that now has a multi-national nature, each person in our Keris World has a role to play. The person who is the pure collector is no less important than the person who is the pure researcher. Probably most of us combine several functions relating to keris interest, but have a tendency to favour one over another.
Imagine for a moment that in our World of the Keris there were no pure collectors. None to accumulate, name, record and file. If these people did not exist, how could the pure researcher function? In fact, he could not, as he would have nothing to research.
No Michel, I was not being harsh. I was trying to very gently cause those of us with an interest in the keris to ask themselves if perhaps there might be more to be gained from that interest if they altered only a little, their orientation to the subject.
Consider this:- if I were to come across a puzzling carving on a blade that depicted a singa barong wearing a tophat, what would be the most valuable information, the name of a keris with such a carving, or its meaning? What did its original owner call it---if indeed he called it anything---or why did its original owner order its production? Perhaps its production was not ordered at all, so why did its maker invest time and money in its production?
When we attempt to come to an understanding, on any level, of the keris, there are many questions that can be asked.
Sometimes it can be more difficult to construct an adequate question, than it is to provide an adequate answer to a question.
My remarks were not intended to be harsh:- they were intended to prompt thought.
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