Sold for over €85k

[David]

Originally Posted by HughChen

Thank you for your showing of the €42,000 one. The blade seems much shorter than the scabbard. Does it indicate a wrong match or the blade had been repired before? Does anyone have some comments on this one?

I could be wrong here, but my understanding if that keris in Bali are traditionally worn at the back so that the hilt rises up over the shoulder. In order to make wearing a keris in this manner practical it would be necessary for the dress to be a certain length regardless of the actual length of the blade. In my own collection i have a very short blade (by Bali standards) 13 inch blade in a sarung that is 21.5 inches long. It is very clear that the sarung was made specifically for this blade and equally clear that the blade has never been shortened. So it seems logical to my mind that the length of Balinese dress is more dictated by the manner in which the keris is worn in Bali than by the actual length of the blade.

[A. G. Maisey]

Not quite so David, Balinese keris can come in various lengths and various scabbard sizes, & when it is worn at the back, it is called "nyungklit", when worn at the waist it is "nyelet", when worn in front and slightly tilted it is called "nyote", when in hand and in defensive mode it is called "mukur".

When the culture police are patrolling during certain holy days, they invariably wear the keris as "nyote", ie, waist level, slightly tilted with the hilt towards the right hand.

When somebody is dressed for a formal occasion, they will usually wear the keris behind the shoulder when they are dressed in sarung, but if dressed with a jacket they normally carry the keris in their hand, &when it becomes necessary to have both hands free, they usually stick it into the setagen (waist sash) as a sort of cross between nyelet & nyungklit.

I have a few old --- in one case very old --- Balinese keris that are in smaller dress that would be quite impossible to wear at the back with the hilt rising behind the shoulder.

But putting all that to one side, yes, it is completely possible for a short keris to be dressed in a sarung that will permit it to be worn as nyungklit.

[David]

Thanks for the clarification Alan. I have never encountered Balinese keris is these shorter sarungs that you mention so they are outside my knowledge. But as you point out, smaller keris are somtimes housed in longer sarungs so that they can permit it to be worn as nyungklit. This was the point i was trying to get across to Hugh,
Do you have access to any old photographs that show Balinese wearing keris in either "nyelet" or "nyote" positions. I would love to see this. Thanks!

[A. G. Maisey]

Probably not David, I don't take much notice of these old photos, many, if not most of them were posed. I do have a couple of old keris that are quite short, & I have a few photos of the Culture Police.