Keris Coteng

[maxbliss888]

Hi David,

I am new to the hobby of vintage Keris and I was collecting mainly vintage watches before. I come across the Keris by chance and i find myself asking the question why I have no knowledge of the Keris around me even though I am an Asian living in Asia?

My plan originally is to only focus on Keris from Thailand (since I am currently working and staying in Thailand). Being able to move around the countries has allowed me the opportunities to explore the small regions and towns in search of these. As I am not familiar with the age of the Old vintage Keris, I will have to rely on a few Thai that I have known to help identify. As there are so many types of Keris from the region and the complexities, I though it will be a good idea just to focus on the Tajjong and Coteng...plus the fact that cash is limited and I cannot buy everything...

My journey of collecting Keris has been an interesting one especially the waiting period from seeing a photos of the Keris to touching the actual plus exploration of the country.

Even though these Thai Keris are from the Southern Thai, I have seen a few in the Northern Chiangmai region as well.

Thanks for the forum help in enlightening and knowledege sharing

[maxbliss888]

Some shots ..

[maxbliss888]

Coteng from Southern Thailand

[David]

One thing i have to say, strictly from a personal perspective, is that while this dress form is attractive and exotic i have always found the blades they contain within rather disappointing. My personal take on the keris and keris collecting is that it is the blade that is the heart and soul of the keris. If the blade doesn't grab me no amount of fancy dress is enough to draw me to it for very long. Has anyone seen examples of the coteng form that contain any blades of particular quality?

[Rick]

There may be one somewhere in this hoard of kerises Max has showered us with, but he seems reluctant to show us any close-ups of their blades .

[maxbliss888]

I like the history and authenticity of vintage Keris. As many of these Keris have been passed down by generations in harsh physical environment, I reckon that that's how some of the Keris ended up,...

Photo of close up

[maxbliss888]

Sorry about the photo quality as thee are limitation on the size of photos and I have to compressed it in order to load it up....

Not sure why sometimes I can post a bigger size photo and sometimes it get smaller..

[maxbliss888]

Originally Posted by David

One thing i have to say, strictly from a personal perspective, is that while this dress form is attractive and exotic i have always found the blades they contain within rather disappointing. My personal take on the keris and keris collecting is that it is the blade that is the heart and soul of the keris. If the blade doesn't grab me no amount of fancy dress is enough to draw me to it for very long. Has anyone seen examples of the coteng form that contain any blades of particular quality?

Yes, somehow, the blade in the Coteng seems to be disappointing then the other Keris. However, it is also a challenge to be able to find these antiques keris in excellent conditions. Moreover, IMHO, the attractiveness of the Coteng lies in its Hulu design.. Versus the other keris...

[maxbliss888]

Close up

[maxbliss888]

Better photo I hope