Bali/Lombok keris from ebay

A. G. Maisey · 16th July 2009, 01:45 AM

From what I can see in the photo this keris looks like an original.

It is not at all unusual in both Bali and Jawa for an old blade to have its edges cleaned up. With age, edges of a blade can become ragged, and it is normal practice to regularise these ragged edges. This is what a m'ranggi is paid to do. Its his job to maintain blades in the best possible condition.

Western collectors very often seem to think that any keris which is not in an untouched condition is something that has been "fiddled with", and is thus undesirable. Nothing could be further from the truth. A keris is a living entity and requires maintenance. A keris is not something that is frozen in time and intended to be locked in a glass case in a museum and looked at.

The edges of this blade may have been cleaned up --- or they may not have been. If the job has been well done, it is very difficult to know for certain, and in any case, from my perspective, it is totally irrelevant. This blade looks good now, and that's the important thing.

The hilt is an unusual form, I have a similar one that is quite small.

The the hilt ring (wewer, uwer) may be original, or may not be. I have seen a lot of different things used as hilt rings, both in Bali, and in western societies.
It is not the type of hilt ring that we usually encounter.

Impossible to comment on the stain from a photo.

As for the age of pre-1800, unless there is a provenance that can substantiate that, I'd take it with a grain of salt.

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16th July 2009, 01:45 AM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	From what I can see in the photo this keris looks like an original. It is not at all unusual in both Bali and Jawa for an old blade to have its edges cleaned up. With age, edges of a blade can become ragged, and it is normal practice to regularise these ragged edges. This is what a m'ranggi is paid to do. Its his job to maintain blades in the best possible condition. Western collectors very often seem to think that any keris which is not in an untouched condition is something that has been "fiddled with", and is thus undesirable. Nothing could be further from the truth. A keris is a living entity and requires maintenance. A keris is not something that is frozen in time and intended to be locked in a glass case in a museum and looked at. The edges of this blade may have been cleaned up --- or they may not have been. If the job has been well done, it is very difficult to know for certain, and in any case, from my perspective, it is totally irrelevant. This blade looks good now, and that's the important thing. The hilt is an unusual form, I have a similar one that is quite small. The the hilt ring (wewer, uwer) may be original, or may not be. I have seen a lot of different things used as hilt rings, both in Bali, and in western societies. It is not the type of hilt ring that we usually encounter. Impossible to comment on the stain from a photo. As for the age of pre-1800, unless there is a provenance that can substantiate that, I'd take it with a grain of salt.