Yes Jean, I agree, Blue's opinion and my opinion are coming from different directions:-
Blue's opinion is absolutely defensible from the perspective of the average general collector who is outside Javanese society, on the other hand I have chosen to adopt an attitude that reflects what I have been taught of the Javanese perspective.
I guess it depends upon whether we view this keris as a Javanese cultural artifact, or whether we do not differentiate it from any keris from any other place. Whether we judge it according to parameters specific to the Javanese keris, or whether we judge it according to the parameters of general collectors who have only a very slight understanding of the way in which to appraise a Javanese keris.
In my opinion it should be judged as a Javanese keris, not just as any old keris that happened to wander along. Somebody took the trouble to dress it very tastefully and very correctly. It deserves nothing less than culturally correct appraisal. It is not just another collectable item, it is a very nice example of a Javanese dress keris. In my opinion to give it only a cursory comment based upon overall appearance is to disrespect this keris, it is a serious cultural artifact and should be given serious attention.
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