Enquiry about a Bali keris motif

[Gustav]

Originally Posted by Anthony G.

What is your view about this? I have a Lombok friend who told me that old Balinese keris does not have luk that exceed 17 luk. Above 17 Luks are more likely modern century creation.

Anthony, if you ask about the Keris in Hales book (which has 31 Luk), it's impossible to say something from a quite small picture. Its appearance in that picture is that of a Keris older then Ex-IFICAH, which surely is 20th century, and I think, not the very beginning of it.

Regarding high number Luk Kerisses in Bali, Jasper&Mas Pirngadie, who gathered their material in the years before and around WWI and are conservative about Keris Bali, do list names for Keris with 15 and 25 Luk.

As I wrote, there is a Keris with 19 Luk in the collection of museum in Leiden, which was taken after the Puputan in Denpasar.

But your friend certainly is wright in that there surely are much more modern creations with high Luk number then genuine old ones.