My thanks to those who have provided feedback.
After I'd submitted my post, it occurred to me that my question regarding the posting of photos was actually a sort of "fishing for a loophole".
My reasoning was: if the guy I acquired the keris from photographed the wilah while he was the owner of the keris, and prior to my acquisition of it, the photos he took would be photographs of the wilah of his keris. Because the photos he took were taken before the keris became my keris, if I were to post any of the photos he took (contingent upon gaining his permission to do so first, of course), I would be posting photos of his keris (because the photos were taken by him while he was the owner of the keris, in spite of the fact that I subsequently became the owner of said keris, which remains in a condition essentially identical to that seen in his photos).
Mr Maisey has hit upon a point which is very pertinent. Messrs Anthony G and David have both hit upon that which I was primarily concerned with in my original post: the spiritual reasons.
From a strictly jurisprudential perspective, there's no issue with my posting photos of the wilah which I've taken myself. There's no issue with posting photos of the wilah taken by a third party if that third party has granted me permission to do so.
But we're discussing keris here, not a 1958 Plymouth Fury. For myself, some particular firearms, cutting or stabbing weapons, edged tools, and keris are not just commodities; some particular ones are akin to relics. A keris may not be considered a "person", (nor a valid representative, proxy, second, or 副) by any currently recognized legal system, but this does not mean that a "personage" is not inhabiting/ indwelling/ attached to/ associated with a particular article, such as a keris, and it does not mean that that such a personage is not "familiar" (in it's many nuances of meaning) with the person who currently holds the title deed to said keris, as well as those who have done so previously.
Just because times have changed, it doesn't mean that the way things were done years ago isn't the way things ought to be done now, and it doesn't mean that what was believed years ago ought not to be believed still.
Mr. Maisey: Less than a handful of people where I work know that I collect "Indonesian weapons" (for lack of a more precise and less political term). I've told most of them that my collection is housed in a certain heated storage facility miles from my residence. There is no truth whatsoever to the tale I've told them; it's a deliberate "red herring". I told that lie to lessen the likelihood that anyone they then go on to share that information with will then burglarize my residence in an effort to steal my antiques. Seekor anjing besar, kucing hitam semi-liar, dan dua bintara (pembunuh terlatih pemerintah, tanpa merentangkan kebenaran; satu suka, dan yang lainnya hanya berdarah dingin dan berpikiran bisnis) biasanya hadir di kediaman, untuk meningkatkan ketenangan pikiran saya.
I've read (and what I've read may not be true) that it's not unheard of to substitute a ganja tanpa pamor
to hide/disguise the pamor of the wilah proper, or to use kinatah emas on the original ganja to the same effect.
Again, this post may not have attained the degree of precision I would have liked, but at 04:17, it's the best I'm willing to attempt before I get some sleep.
With my respect,
Mickey
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