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Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey
Jean, I don't think I have ever claimed that long Balinese blades did not exist prior to the 19th century. If I have I would really appreciate it if you could give me the quote, as perhaps what I wrote was not clearly defined.
Certainly the large beautifully sculpted Balinese keris that we are all familiar with did become more prevalent during the 19th century, and this can be put down to two major factors:- increase in population and easier access to materials.
But large Balinese keris did exist in earlier times, I have several that can be reliably dated to before 1800.
Incidentally Jean, I believe Empu Tidak Tahu, also known as Mpu Belum Tahu was Javanese, or perhaps Malay, there seems to be some confusion as to his origin, but I'm inclined to regard him as Malay. Possibly one of the best known of the Javanese empus is Mpu Ora Ngerti. I understand that his Balinese equivalent is Pande Nenten Uning also known as Pande Tusing Tawang.
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Hello Alan,
Thank you for your very interesting message which should close the discussion about these 2 krisses I think, although there is a legitimate uncertainty regarding the age of these 2 blades as advised by Gustav.
Thank you for your clarification regarding the age of the large balinese blades, your above statement is probably what you told me earlier, sorry for the confusion
I did not know that Empu Tidak Tahu exist
(it was just a joke) but I believe that he was the maker of most of my krisses!
Regards