Sumatra Keris tourist or not?

chregu · 8th April 2010, 06:03 PM

hello together
I bought this today and I'm not sure Keris tourist piece or not.
to any info grateful
gruss Chregu

David · 8th April 2010, 06:18 PM

Based on dress alone i would say this is a Madura keris, not Sumatra. This style of dress is often associated with "tourist" variety Madura keris. Yours seems an older example with an even older blade.
Back in the early 20th century many dutch soldiers brought keris like these back from being stationed in Indonesia. Perhaps one might say that was the beginning of the "tourist" keris. Those bring-backs usually had real, though lower end blades in some sort of carved sheath like yours. Sometimes the figure depicted is a lion. Yours appears to be some sort of bird. You may, therefore, be able to consider this a "tourist" keris, though certainly not in the same way as a contemporary blade in brand new dress made for the market these days. Personally i find keris like this one very interesting and collectable even if there intention in their current form was for sale to returning dutch soldiers. They are a piece of history if you will.

chregu · 8th April 2010, 07:22 PM

hi david
thanke for the detailed answer. Indonesian history is not my area of expertise.
gruss Chregu

A. G. Maisey · 8th April 2010, 11:52 PM

Yes, its a Madura keris, and as David mentions, this style of dress is sometimes associated with keris that were produced for collectors in the period from around 1880 through to WWII.

However, simply because there seems to have been production directed at the collector market does not make this style of dress any less desirable, in fact, old examples of this dress style are now relatively scarce and for the better ones, quite expensive, especially those which are carved as lions.

In my opinion, it is wrong to think of this type of dress as "tourist", because it is a genuine and old established type of dress, however Europeans favoured it because it is elaborate, and blades redressed for sale in the later colonial era were probably dressed this way to facilitate sale.

Examples of this dress can be seen in the museum of the Kraton Sumenep, in Madura. There are a number of different styles, all having different names. I understand the generic name is "gabilan", but there is another larger style that is named "brahmana rsi". I am unclear on the distinction between the two, except that the brahmana rsi is larger.

I do not favour the term "tourist keris", most especially for any type of keris that does have a legitimate old form. If I consider the types of keris that have been made specifically for the tourist market there is really only one type from Indonesia that I can fit squarely into that box, I do not have an example I can show a photo of, but it is a Balinese production, the scabbard is almost always of Makassar ebony, but later ones were stained black, the carving of scabbard and hilt is often of a very high standard, and very often the blade is a piece of flat iron with an etched pamor design. This type of keris was produced exclusively for tourist consumption.

Rick · 9th April 2010, 03:31 AM

This old thread :
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...gabilan+madura

And a Lion form .

No mendak needed; it's carved right in .

David · 9th April 2010, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

However, simply because there seems to have been production directed at the collector market does not make this style of dress any less desirable, in fact, old examples of this dress style are now relatively scarce and for the better ones, quite expensive, especially those which are carved as lions.

Yes, i have been interested in finding a nicely carved old version of this lion dress for some time.
I agree with you completely Alan. This notion of the "tourist" keris is really a misnomer. Those nasty cut out blades with the paint on pamor from Bali would qualify, yes, and those souvenir Malay letter opener keris with the silver plated blades certainly do, but beyond that...

BluErf · 10th April 2010, 03:22 PM

I thought the blade is a very decent blade! Has a settled old look to it, and definitely made by a pandai who knew what he was doing.

8th April 2010, 06:03 PM	#1
chregu Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: switzerland Posts: 298	Sumatra Keris tourist or not? hello together I bought this today and I'm not sure Keris tourist piece or not. to any info grateful gruss Chregu Attached Images

8th April 2010, 11:52 PM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	Yes, its a Madura keris, and as David mentions, this style of dress is sometimes associated with keris that were produced for collectors in the period from around 1880 through to WWII. However, simply because there seems to have been production directed at the collector market does not make this style of dress any less desirable, in fact, old examples of this dress style are now relatively scarce and for the better ones, quite expensive, especially those which are carved as lions. In my opinion, it is wrong to think of this type of dress as "tourist", because it is a genuine and old established type of dress, however Europeans favoured it because it is elaborate, and blades redressed for sale in the later colonial era were probably dressed this way to facilitate sale. Examples of this dress can be seen in the museum of the Kraton Sumenep, in Madura. There are a number of different styles, all having different names. I understand the generic name is "gabilan", but there is another larger style that is named "brahmana rsi". I am unclear on the distinction between the two, except that the brahmana rsi is larger. I do not favour the term "tourist keris", most especially for any type of keris that does have a legitimate old form. If I consider the types of keris that have been made specifically for the tourist market there is really only one type from Indonesia that I can fit squarely into that box, I do not have an example I can show a photo of, but it is a Balinese production, the scabbard is almost always of Makassar ebony, but later ones were stained black, the carving of scabbard and hilt is often of a very high standard, and very often the blade is a piece of flat iron with an etched pamor design. This type of keris was produced exclusively for tourist consumption. Last edited by A. G. Maisey; 9th April 2010 at 12:14 AM.

9th April 2010, 03:31 AM	#5
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,376	Photo Rich This old thread : http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...gabilan+madura And a Lion form . No mendak needed; it's carved right in . Attached Images

8th April 2010, 06:18 PM	#2
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,250	Based on dress alone i would say this is a Madura keris, not Sumatra. This style of dress is often associated with "tourist" variety Madura keris. Yours seems an older example with an even older blade. Back in the early 20th century many dutch soldiers brought keris like these back from being stationed in Indonesia. Perhaps one might say that was the beginning of the "tourist" keris. Those bring-backs usually had real, though lower end blades in some sort of carved sheath like yours. Sometimes the figure depicted is a lion. Yours appears to be some sort of bird. You may, therefore, be able to consider this a "tourist" keris, though certainly not in the same way as a contemporary blade in brand new dress made for the market these days. Personally i find keris like this one very interesting and collectable even if there intention in their current form was for sale to returning dutch soldiers. They are a piece of history if you will.

8th April 2010, 07:22 PM	#3
chregu Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: switzerland Posts: 298	hi david thanke for the detailed answer. Indonesian history is not my area of expertise. gruss Chregu

10th April 2010, 03:22 PM	#7
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	I thought the blade is a very decent blade! Has a settled old look to it, and definitely made by a pandai who knew what he was doing.