Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

A. G. Maisey · 9th August 2006, 03:45 AM

The book, "Keris Jawa, Antara Mystik dan Nalar" is the best keris book I have ever seen.

The production is better than good. It is excellent.

The information contained in the text is from one of the foremost authorities on the Javanese keris. This does not mean that this information is not open to debate, but it does mean that the point of view put forward is accepted by many people and can be substantiated.

The quality of the photographs is wonderful.

The drawings appear to be computer enhancements (I`m guessing here), because they seem to be simply too good for just drawings.

I was given a copy a couple of weeks ago, and have read up to about page 80---still another 300 odd pages to go. This book weighs 3 kilos (6.6 pounds)

I have just checked the link and I see that the price is RP1.000.000, or about $US100, before the 10% tax. This is not expensive for a book of this quality, in fact, I regard it as very, very cheap. Even at twice this price it would still be a great buy.Just for comparison:- when Ensiklopedi first came out, it cost the same :- RP. 1.000.000, and the quality of production of Ensiklopedi is nowhere near the quality of this new book.

For people who cannot read Indonesian, the pictures alone are worth more than the cost of this book.

Its a great book and a landmark in publishing on the keris.

9th August 2006, 03:45 AM	#7
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,704	The book, "Keris Jawa, Antara Mystik dan Nalar" is the best keris book I have ever seen. The production is better than good. It is excellent. The information contained in the text is from one of the foremost authorities on the Javanese keris. This does not mean that this information is not open to debate, but it does mean that the point of view put forward is accepted by many people and can be substantiated. The quality of the photographs is wonderful. The drawings appear to be computer enhancements (I`m guessing here), because they seem to be simply too good for just drawings. I was given a copy a couple of weeks ago, and have read up to about page 80---still another 300 odd pages to go. This book weighs 3 kilos (6.6 pounds) I have just checked the link and I see that the price is RP1.000.000, or about $US100, before the 10% tax. This is not expensive for a book of this quality, in fact, I regard it as very, very cheap. Even at twice this price it would still be a great buy.Just for comparison:- when Ensiklopedi first came out, it cost the same :- RP. 1.000.000, and the quality of production of Ensiklopedi is nowhere near the quality of this new book. For people who cannot read Indonesian, the pictures alone are worth more than the cost of this book. Its a great book and a landmark in publishing on the keris. Last edited by A. G. Maisey; 9th August 2006 at 07:01 AM.