Best sources for seeing,handling & purchasing Keris ?

Boswego · 4th February 2005, 05:26 PM

I'm new to the world of Keris.I live in Portland,OR and wonder if anyone might have tips on good sources on learning more and collecting Keris.I've been a Collector (Buyer & Seller) of various antiques for 30 years and have always loved ethnographic arts and crafts.In all that time I can't recall seeing too many Keris,at least on the West Coast (obviously I'd see more in SE Asia).Ebay of course has 'em(although one has to be knowledgable to buy here-and I'm not,but I suspect much of it is crap),Gun and Knife Shows,Flea Mkts,etc. Any other suggestions ? The Keris I listed in an earlier Posting I picked-up for $30 at a local Flea Market-solely on it's artistic merit and the fact that I have a decent knowledge of patina and 'feel' (and of course it seemed cheap,at least to Me-had it been a hundred bucks or more-i would have hesitated and mindgamed myself into a corner).Thanks for any help/tips You can think of.

nechesh · 4th February 2005, 05:42 PM

Wow, you bought that Moro keris you showed for $30 bucks?!

You dog!!!

There are a few good on-line dealers. Of course, you can't handle those. I'm not sure what the Portland scene is like, but i would imagine they might show up in some antique stores. My experience with that sphere in NYC has been that they are usually terribly over-priced in such places. Gun shows are sometimes a good place to look because those dealers usually value their guns more than edged weapons. But if you go to the big Baltimore show you will probably see a lot of keris, thought there weren't a lot of great ones or good deals when i was there.

Boswego · 4th February 2005, 06:54 PM

Necheseh- I thought it was a great deal.As soon as My Wife saw it she said-'We're keeping it !',and immediately started looking for a place to hang it. She loves nice old ethnographic art and I liked it too much too put on Ebay .I see some lovely looking old (authentic?) blades on Ebay priced btw. $125-$300 that get zero bids.Are most of the Keris on Ebay phonies,inferior,or are most Ebayers ferociously frugal (not my buyers of course)?

nechesh · 4th February 2005, 07:21 PM

A great deal of the keris you see on eBay are newly made. I personally don't consider this a problem if that is what i am looking for, but many of these guys selling these new keris claim they are old. That's a big problem for me on many levels. Even if i would be interested in a newly made keris, i would not be interested in buying it from one of these unscrupulous dealers. Just a matter of ethics for me. Some of these new keris are very nicely made. There is a market for the and people who chose to collect them because buying an old piece of the same quality with whatever rare pamor it has would cost thousands of dollar instead of hundreds. I have one really nice keris in my collection that i bought knowingly as a new piece just because it appealed to my artistic sensibilities.But the dealer was honest with me about it's age. I wouldn't but from any of these eBay deceivers at any price. Perhaps others feel this way which is why those keris you see get no bids.
You might also see other auctions on eBay go unbidded because sometimes the photos are so bad that you just can't get a good gauge of quality or authenticity from them. Sometimes you can take a chance here and make a good deal, but it's always hit or miss.

Mick · 4th February 2005, 08:37 PM

Boswego

The Great Western Show used to be a fine place to see and pick up good kerises at fair prices. Thanks to the county this show was run out of Los Angles (those horrible gun things were sold there). It has since moved to Fort Worth Texas.

The first couple of years the show did not draw as well and nearly dumped, now it has drawn for a couple of years and looks to be up to about 1100 tables this year. This is still a lot less than the 1500 to 2000 tables that it used to draw. I haven't been to the new location, but if you can find the time, it might be worth checking out. If you do so, please report your finding back to the forum for our edification.

Rick · 4th February 2005, 09:48 PM

The keris (not krisses) that I tend to collect are new ones sold to me by a Dealer that I trust implicitly . The new pieces he sells are the best of the affordable work coming out of Indonesia today . That solves any question of fakery for me .

I agree with Nechesh , I shun the Indo / Malay dealers on ebay .

There is only one Dealer from SG that I would feel safe dealing with , he is a long standing member here .

Boswego , you were very lucky to get that kris for thirty beans ; if you want to start collecting Moro kris you will need deep pockets except for the occasional sleeper you may stumble across . The Moro swords that I have collected over the last 7 years or so have doubled , tripled , and in some cases quadrupled in value since I purchased them .

I blame General Order #11 for this .

Above all I would add that an informed collector is an astute collector .
In other words buy books first , knowledge is buying power .

4th February 2005, 05:26 PM	#1
Boswego Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 23	Best sources for seeing,handling & purchasing Keris ? I'm new to the world of Keris.I live in Portland,OR and wonder if anyone might have tips on good sources on learning more and collecting Keris.I've been a Collector (Buyer & Seller) of various antiques for 30 years and have always loved ethnographic arts and crafts.In all that time I can't recall seeing too many Keris,at least on the West Coast (obviously I'd see more in SE Asia).Ebay of course has 'em(although one has to be knowledgable to buy here-and I'm not,but I suspect much of it is crap),Gun and Knife Shows,Flea Mkts,etc. Any other suggestions ? The Keris I listed in an earlier Posting I picked-up for $30 at a local Flea Market-solely on it's artistic merit and the fact that I have a decent knowledge of patina and 'feel' (and of course it seemed cheap,at least to Me-had it been a hundred bucks or more-i would have hesitated and mindgamed myself into a corner).Thanks for any help/tips You can think of.

4th February 2005, 05:42 PM	#2
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	Wow, you bought that Moro keris you showed for $30 bucks?! You dog!!! There are a few good on-line dealers. Of course, you can't handle those. I'm not sure what the Portland scene is like, but i would imagine they might show up in some antique stores. My experience with that sphere in NYC has been that they are usually terribly over-priced in such places. Gun shows are sometimes a good place to look because those dealers usually value their guns more than edged weapons. But if you go to the big Baltimore show you will probably see a lot of keris, thought there weren't a lot of great ones or good deals when i was there.

4th February 2005, 06:54 PM	#3
Boswego Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 23	Necheseh- I thought it was a great deal.As soon as My Wife saw it she said-'We're keeping it !',and immediately started looking for a place to hang it. She loves nice old ethnographic art and I liked it too much too put on Ebay .I see some lovely looking old (authentic?) blades on Ebay priced btw. $125-$300 that get zero bids.Are most of the Keris on Ebay phonies,inferior,or are most Ebayers ferociously frugal (not my buyers of course)?

4th February 2005, 07:21 PM	#4
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	A great deal of the keris you see on eBay are newly made. I personally don't consider this a problem if that is what i am looking for, but many of these guys selling these new keris claim they are old. That's a big problem for me on many levels. Even if i would be interested in a newly made keris, i would not be interested in buying it from one of these unscrupulous dealers. Just a matter of ethics for me. Some of these new keris are very nicely made. There is a market for the and people who chose to collect them because buying an old piece of the same quality with whatever rare pamor it has would cost thousands of dollar instead of hundreds. I have one really nice keris in my collection that i bought knowingly as a new piece just because it appealed to my artistic sensibilities.But the dealer was honest with me about it's age. I wouldn't but from any of these eBay deceivers at any price. Perhaps others feel this way which is why those keris you see get no bids. You might also see other auctions on eBay go unbidded because sometimes the photos are so bad that you just can't get a good gauge of quality or authenticity from them. Sometimes you can take a chance here and make a good deal, but it's always hit or miss.

4th February 2005, 08:37 PM	#5
Mick Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Orlando Posts: 104	Boswego The Great Western Show used to be a fine place to see and pick up good kerises at fair prices. Thanks to the county this show was run out of Los Angles (those horrible gun things were sold there). It has since moved to Fort Worth Texas. The first couple of years the show did not draw as well and nearly dumped, now it has drawn for a couple of years and looks to be up to about 1100 tables this year. This is still a lot less than the 1500 to 2000 tables that it used to draw. I haven't been to the new location, but if you can find the time, it might be worth checking out. If you do so, please report your finding back to the forum for our edification.

4th February 2005, 09:48 PM	#6
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,336	The keris (not krisses) that I tend to collect are new ones sold to me by a Dealer that I trust implicitly . The new pieces he sells are the best of the affordable work coming out of Indonesia today . That solves any question of fakery for me . I agree with Nechesh , I shun the Indo / Malay dealers on ebay . There is only one Dealer from SG that I would feel safe dealing with , he is a long standing member here . Boswego , you were very lucky to get that kris for thirty beans ; if you want to start collecting Moro kris you will need deep pockets except for the occasional sleeper you may stumble across . The Moro swords that I have collected over the last 7 years or so have doubled , tripled , and in some cases quadrupled in value since I purchased them . I blame General Order #11 for this . Above all I would add that an informed collector is an astute collector . In other words buy books first , knowledge is buying power .