Thank you all for the feedback given. I have learnt so much in the past few days. I am not familiar with Bali keris and the iconography and symbolism associated with it.
The reason I asked about the hilt was that it did not seem to conform with older hilts forms on the net or in books, given its lifelike facial features. Also the ivory was clearly stained for an aged effect but the patina and wear in parts seem to indicate some age. I did not take much notice of the selut till it was mentioned here. Well a 40 plus year old piece is not really "young".
The blade does not have the Balinese polish and I have asked myself if it could be a Madura blade. The wood in the sheath doesn't seem to have the pelet effect of older pieces eventhough I was told it is pelet wood.
I acquired the piece in the mid to late 1990s. Din know much about keris then (even now..dunno much...new things to learn, old assumptions overturned). It was and is a lovely piece and really heartening to see the level of workmanship from that period. I will attach full pics of it in the next post. Might be great for discussions.
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