30th October 2017, 10:00 AM | #1 |
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Keris with Ivory, Silver and Horn
Hello! This is my keris. The blade is 31 cm long and 1.5 cm wide at the center. The hilt is some kind of ivory, the hilt cup and pendok are made of silver, and the sampir and buntut are made of horn. Is it Sumatran? Also, is it possible to tell its age based on the features?
According to the dealer, it was likely brought to the US at the turn of the 20th century. Your insights would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Kind regards, Fernando Last edited by F. de Luzon; 30th October 2017 at 01:20 PM. Reason: Added dimensions, clarity |
30th October 2017, 01:43 PM | #2 | |||||
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Hello Fernando,
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It's always tough to evaluate bits of info given by (many) dealers... Quote:
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In a similar vein, the upper part of the pendok appears to have a too wide opening for the base of the sampir and both probably were not crafted to suit each other. Quote:
I'm not convinced that this whole ensemble is original - however, keris bits and pieces have been swapped around for ages, especially on Sumatra with its many neighbouring cultures. Anyway, with a little effort, it probably can gain an even nicer look though! Regards, Kai |
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30th October 2017, 05:54 PM | #3 |
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Thank you for your insights, Kai!
The sampir is currently detached which may account for the poor fit of the pendok in the picture. Also, the sampir seems to have been made for the keris for it follows the profile of the ganja and there is no movement when sheathed. I'll put a little Elmer's glue on the sampir and post pictures soon. Kind regards, Fernando Btw, I had the same impression of the pendokok when I saw it in pictures however, it really looks so much better in person. |
30th October 2017, 06:54 PM | #4 |
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I mostly agree with Kai on his assessment here. I think that you are probably right about the sarong having a better look once you have re-glued it together.
The blade seems to be at least 19th century and could very well be older. As for the pendokok, while it might appear to be of a better quality in person it is still too large for this particular hilt and looks a bit odd. I would not, however, have a silversmith mess with it. Better, i believe, to simply find a new silver pendokok of good quality that fits properly. |
30th October 2017, 11:29 PM | #5 |
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All collectors love perfection.
I think that is probably a reasonably correct comment. It doesn't only apply to keris, nor only to edged weapons in general, but to all sorts of collectables --- coins, sea shells, paper weights --- and so on. But in the case of keris, I am not at all certain that perfection of fit and finish is really a desirable objective. Many years ago I used to be certain that every keris should be a perfect example of fit & finish, and that art should shine through at all costs. Maybe sometimes this might be desirable. Maybe. But many years of close observation of keris wear and use in keris bearing societies has tended to modify the obsessions of my early collecting years so that I now feel that if a complete keris has been a coherent entity for a reasonably long period of time, it is probably a more sympathetic approach to leave as found and not impose my ideas upon the ideas of previous owners. Of course, this approach should not be maintained where a keris is found in less than acceptable condition, the first consideration should always be for long term conservation. |
31st October 2017, 01:34 PM | #6 | |||
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Hello Fernando,
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Regards, Kai |
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31st October 2017, 01:39 PM | #7 | |
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Hello David,
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Regards, Kai |
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31st October 2017, 02:18 PM | #8 | |
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Hello Alan,
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I agree that keris which have a high chance to represent honest examples of what traditional owners carried in the 19th century or earlier should not be messed with nor "improved" cosmetically unless longterm conservation is compromised! Sorrily, keris in this category are getting fewer and fewer every day due to well-intentioned "upgrading," matters of taste, or mere marketing tricks. I was hoping for some background info on provenance and agree that this keris should be kept intact if it can be verified (or, at least, made plausible) that this ensemble is antique (or close)... OTOH, if the pendokok can be shown to be recent (like post-independence), I'd have no qualms to modify (or change) it: At the lower end of quality there may be an endless mix'n'match approach without hope for any traditional rules. However, status pieces usually conform to local aesthetics. I'm sure you can think of keris Jawa assembled from perfectly legitimate parts which would be considered to be an eye sore and unacceptable to wear in public (possibly a Solo ukiran with Yogya wronko or vice versa). I believe this pendokok to belong to a similar category and, thus, would consider exchanging it unless reasonable provenance can be established. If opting for changing it, the current one should still be kept with the keris for future reference, indeed! Regards, Kai |
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31st October 2017, 02:59 PM | #9 | |
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31st October 2017, 07:20 PM | #10 |
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True, David, if the current one proved to be not that old it wouldn't hurt to exchange it with a nicely fitting newer one...
Regards, Kai |
31st October 2017, 07:54 PM | #11 | |
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31st October 2017, 10:30 PM | #12 |
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I'll try not to make this post too long, because in fact, in respect of this matter of "correct dress", there is material sufficient for a book, and even to compress it I could very easily run to several thousand words.
Put as concisely as I am able, it comes down to this:- in a situation where an established dress code dictates that a particular form of keris must be worn, we can expect to see keris that have been prepared for use in that particular situation to be presented in accordance with the requirements of the applicable dress code. In all other situations we can expect to see greater and lesser variation from the situational norm. To expand upon the above just minimally:- in Jawa, in respect of keris worn as an item of dress by a member of a defined group within Javanese society, we can expect to see keris that conform to the defined dress rules within that defined group. However, for all other keris that exist within Javanese society we can expect to find dress variation, and for that matter, blade variation, that does not conform to the requirements of any defined societal group. Exactly the same situation applies in Bali, and by all accounts has also applied in times past. I do not have personal experience of what the situation is in keris bearing societies other than those I have already mentioned, but based upon examples of keris with good provenance that I have seen, and which have come from a number of other locations in past times, I am of the opinion that for the vast bulk of ordinary people who lived in other keris bearing societies a keris in any form of dress was still a keris and would be worn and used as a keris. Apart from the established fact of variance in keris dress that is attributable to societal norms and to personal non-conformity, there are other very major reasons for keris dress being somewhat other than might be expected by some collectors. There is the fact that all craftsmen are not equal. Not every craftsman is capable of producing an item of keris dress that perfectly reflects the ideal standard --- and this only addresses the case where craftsmen have been employed to produce keris dress on an individual basis, by this I mean that a keris blade has been given to a m'ranggi and he has been requested to dress it in accordance with defined requirements. By far the greater number of keris are dressed in items which have been pre-produced, rather than made to order. The scabbards, scabbard covers (pendoks), hilts that are used to dress keris are made as items for sale in the market place and are bought by craftsmen and private people alike and then fitted to a keris as required. A skilled craftsman will do a skilful job, a ham-handed craftsman will do a less skillful job, most non-craftsmen do appalling jobs. In a case where a craftsman has not been employed to produce the item of dress, but it has been produced by the owner of the keris, who might be a farmer, or a clerk, or a factory worker, then the degree of non-compliance with a desired standard can be even greater. Then there is the fact that the materials used to produce keris scabbards and hilts are natural materials such as wood or horn. Modern custom knife-makers will seldom guarantee a natural material. Why? Because wood, horn & etc moves and cracks. Natural materials can both contract and expand, and something that is a perfect fit today can be a less than perfect fit next month. The passage of time exacerbates the inherent qualities of natural materials. Over a lengthy period of time a wooden scabbard can wear so much that a blade that was a tight fit when the scabbard was new becomes a loose --- sometimes very loose --- fit when the scabbard is older. This is extremely common. In Jawa this problem is routinely remedied by taking up the slackness in fit with infills of one material or another to bring the fit back to a nice close fit again. This routine keris maintenance is then regarded by knowledgeable collectors outside the society as sure evidence that "the wrongko is not original to the blade". Ah, yes, of course. I have written more than enough for a post to this discussion. I doubt that I have written anything above that is not common knowledge to anybody who has even minimal experience in the study of the keris, but sometimes we do forget to think about these things before we pontificate upon them. |
1st November 2017, 03:21 PM | #13 |
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Thank you all for your comments. I appreciate the time you spared to share your observations and insights. I learned some more about the keris and culture from the discussion.
For now, I intend to leave this keris as found. It is unfortunate that there is little information on its provenance. I purchased it from a Massachusetts based antique dealer who said that, "it came out of a lot of knives with the majority of them being from the Philippines and came back from the Philippine American War of 1899-1902." I asked for additional information but have not received a reply. Anyway, below are additional pictures. The first shows details of the sheath construction. In the second, I highlighted matching details of the upper and lower parts of the the pendok. The third and fourth are just additional front and back views. The last is a photo of a print showing a similar sheath (back view). Kind regards to all! Fernando Last edited by F. de Luzon; 2nd November 2017 at 02:02 AM. |
1st November 2017, 04:57 PM | #14 | |
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10th November 2017, 04:55 AM | #15 | |
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Thanks David! Fernando |
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10th November 2017, 04:58 AM | #16 | |
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Out of curiosity, is there a way to tell if a keris blade has been artificially aged? Kind regards, Fernando |
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10th November 2017, 10:06 AM | #17 |
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Hello Fernando,
I don't think that your blade was artificially aged but it looks older than the dress (pendok and pendokok especially). I attach a pic of a similar kris from my collection bought in Medan (North Sumatra) in 1996 and originally fitted with an ivory Bugis hilt. Regards |
10th November 2017, 04:15 PM | #18 | |
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It should also be noted that artificial keris aging isn't always done to fool. Within certain collecting circles (this probably only applies to Javanese keris) an aged look is the preferred look so new blades will receive this process with the buyer knowing that the keris is new. It is only when such blades are presented as antique that we have a problem. |
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11th November 2017, 03:20 PM | #19 |
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Hello Jean and David,
Your insights are very reassuring. Thank you very much! Jean, that kris is very nice. Kind regards, Fernando |
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