All right, I'll jump in.
I know very little about Keris; I have collected a few, and I probably have some decent ones. My favorite one came from a pawn shop here in Santa Barbara. About 10 years ago, I happened to walk in, and saw some Keris hanging on the wall. There was one that I immediately felt an affinity to; the handle was in the shape of Petruk, very finely carved, the scabbard was very finely painted, and the blade seemed old. The layers looked quite fine, and there were some interesting details in the Pamor. I offered them money, but they turned me down.
I went home, and that night I had a very vivid dream about that Keris, a dream in which I owned it and it was my friend. (!?) Yes, I know, it seems a little bit strange, but I kept going into the shop and offering them more money, in $50 increments. Finally I told them that this was an Italian auction; I would get to a point where I would simply not bother coming back. They would not know what my maximum was; all they would know is that I was finished bidding.
That was when they decided they would sell it to me. Since then, I've sent pictures of that particular Keris to Alan, who has been kind enough to give me quite a bit of information on it.
My decision was based on several things:
A– the beauty of the handle carving, the fineness of the Pamor, and the unbelievable fineness of the painting;
B– the affinity that I felt. Call it psychic, call it spiritual, call it whatever you want; I just KNEW that this was my long-lost friend. Although I own several Keris, this particular one speaks to me without the shadow of a doubt.
I know almost nothing about Tanguh, Dapur, and other particulars of the Keris; I just know what I like, and what I feel.
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