Keris ID

[A. G. Maisey]

Yeah, sure it is possible that it is a dealer's or collectors montage, but this can happen in an indigenous society as well. In Bali it is not at all uncommon to see Javanese blades in Bali dress, & a lot of Bali pusaka keris are in fact Jawa keris in Bali dress. In Jawa we find both Bugis & Bali blades in Jawa dress.

I remember a keris that I once saw that had excellent provenance, it had been acquired many years previously on the North Coast of Sumatera & each and every part of that keris was from a different geographic location.

The scabbard fitted neatly to the blade that collectors like to see is in my experience not particularly usual outside of areas where the keris is a required part of formal dress. Even in those areas, somebody who wants to redress his keris might not be able to afford the services of a m'ranggi, so he buys a new ready made wrongko in the market and fits it himself, not everybody is all that skilled at this.