Sumatra Keris tourist or not?

David · 10th April 2010, 04:45 PM

Well, as Alan has pointed out this dress form was a legitimate one that was favored my Europeans and so it became associated with them due to their desire to have these elaborate carvings for keris they returned home with. But we would probably be a bit off base to assume that they were always made specifically for Dutch soldiers. And for the most part i think the blades in them were not made for them either. Just old blades they managed to collect and have re-dressed in this form. Because of this i think we see a great deal of variation in the quality of blades we find in this dress, but usually they are not top-notch blades. We also see a wide range in the quality of the dress itself.
Is it not possible that we might find one of these in Madura where it was owned by a Maduran and never meant to be a soldier's souvenir?

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10th April 2010, 04:45 PM	#9
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,211	Well, as Alan has pointed out this dress form was a legitimate one that was favored my Europeans and so it became associated with them due to their desire to have these elaborate carvings for keris they returned home with. But we would probably be a bit off base to assume that they were always made specifically for Dutch soldiers. And for the most part i think the blades in them were not made for them either. Just old blades they managed to collect and have re-dressed in this form. Because of this i think we see a great deal of variation in the quality of blades we find in this dress, but usually they are not top-notch blades. We also see a wide range in the quality of the dress itself. Is it not possible that we might find one of these in Madura where it was owned by a Maduran and never meant to be a soldier's souvenir?