Thread: keris borneo
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Old 1st January 2010, 05:10 AM   #17
A. G. Maisey
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Join Date: May 2006
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I've been out of touch over the Christmas New Year break, and I don't really feel inclined to read back through all the linked threads to see if what I will now say has already been said --- its quicker and easier for me to write.Please forgive me if this is repetition.

The traditional wisdom in respect of Borneo keris --- or Kalimantan, the island is Borneo, the Indonesian province Kalimantan is situated on Borneo --- is that the keris was not indigenous to Borneo. Any keris found on Borneo were brought there by settlers from other parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. When the original dress needed to be replaced the local Borneo craftsman would attempt to copy the original dress, but since these men were not skilled in the art of the particular variations of wrongko, their efforts were most often a slightly warped interpretation of the original.

Metal hilts and also metal scabbards were popular and were often set with rose cut diamonds (intan), rose cut rock crystal (yakut) or other semi-precious gemstones.

It is normal to find matings of blades from one origin with dress that is of a style originating in a different location.
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