Bali keris ?

A. G. Maisey · 9th May 2014, 05:44 PM

Yes, if --- and I do mean "if" --- this blade has Balinese connections, it is certainly more likely to be Lombok than Island of Bali, but I just can't get past that pamor work. I'd need to handle it before I'd be game enough to give an opinion.

Just recently I was looking at a number of fairly ordinary keris that were collected in the last half of the 19th century , direct from old Malaya, Sumatera, Jawa. Very few, if any of these keris have the heavily textured surface that we have come to expect from Jawa and other keris, most would have presented a surface not dissimilar to a Bali blade if they were given a sympathetic clean and stain.

I myself have a few old Javanese blades that went to Holland pre-1800. All these keris have the polished surface that we're used to seeing on Bali blades.

9th May 2014, 05:44 PM	#8
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	Yes, if --- and I do mean "if" --- this blade has Balinese connections, it is certainly more likely to be Lombok than Island of Bali, but I just can't get past that pamor work. I'd need to handle it before I'd be game enough to give an opinion. Just recently I was looking at a number of fairly ordinary keris that were collected in the last half of the 19th century , direct from old Malaya, Sumatera, Jawa. Very few, if any of these keris have the heavily textured surface that we have come to expect from Jawa and other keris, most would have presented a surface not dissimilar to a Bali blade if they were given a sympathetic clean and stain. I myself have a few old Javanese blades that went to Holland pre-1800. All these keris have the polished surface that we're used to seeing on Bali blades.