Kerises: Bali vs. Jawa etc

[David]

Originally Posted by ariel

If I understand you correctly, Balinese masters are continuing to manufacture strictly traditional kerises and are aiming at fulfilling limited, but real, local needs, whereas the production of kerises of Javanese style became commercial in nature to the point of creating a center in Madura that is mass-producing "objects of art" and export-type kerises of whatever "Javanese-style" pattern.
That would indeed explain the difference between the availability of Balinese and Javanese kerises on the market. If so, the laws of supply and demand will inevitably stimulate the Balinese masters to follow the suit in the near future :-)

AFAIK there is very little keris production taking place in Bali. Most of the new blades that we see on the market in the West that are Bali-style are probably also being produced in Madura.
Madura, btw, is usually considered part of East Jawa, even though it is a separate island. As Alan pointed out, the art market for keris is 99% Javanese. So it is a bit off perhaps to view the production of these as "export-type" keris, though certainly a small portion of them do reach that market. The vast majority of keris produced today are for Javanese consumption. I am also not sure that it is correct to suggest that these keris are "mass-produced", at least not in our usual understanding of the term. When you preface "objects of art" with "mass-produced" i can only assume you mean to imply that these contemporary keris are somehow lesser than their antique predecessors in regards to quality and artistic achievement. The use of modern tools does not decrease the quality of these modern keris and in fact some of the technically finest and most artistic keris ever made are being produced through these methods today.