Sumatran Mystery?

[David]

Originally Posted by GIO

Hi David,
very interesting item. In my VERY HUMBLE opinion though this is a keris-like object. The manufacture is very crude and has no detail which can be attributed to a keris.

hmmm…well, i appreciate your response Gio, but personally believe that calling this a "keris-like-object" is perhaps taking it a bit far. No, this certainly isn't the work of an empu and does not seem to follow any known pakem. I have entertained the notion that perhaps this was created by a village smith without much previous experience in crafting keris who may have been working from memory without a clear example to copy from. I do realize that for some collectors anything that does not fall into a keraton pakem is not a legitimate keris, but from my perspective if it was created indigenously to serve the cultural purpose of a keris then it is a legitimate keris regardless of a lack of detailed excellence in execution. I tend to reserve the term "keris-like-object" for things like those nasty Bali tourist "keris" with the painted on pamors.
What is for certain is that somebody considered this keris important enough to spend the time and money to dress it well. I have no doubt that this sheath was created specifically for this blade.
Kai, i am attaching a shot up the hole of the hilt as you requested. To answer your question, the horn piece is indeed tightly attached to the ivory.