artificially aged keris

Buntel Mayit · 29th January 2007, 07:59 AM

Thank you Mr Maisey.

It seems that it is absolutely not easy to spotting artificially aged blades. It takes enormous knowledge on keris which must be learned seriously and takes years.
Does it necessarily mean that one should at least has a basic understanding on classic guide such as Mor-Ja-Si-Rap-Ngun plus Tangguh before judging a blade whether it is real old or artificial?

Regards.

A. G. Maisey · 29th January 2007, 10:48 AM

Its probably not quite so simple as that.

In my experience the bulk of keris collectors are mostly able to identify current era blades of Madura origin, whether actually made in Madura, or as a part of the current Madura tradition. Thus, if one of these blades is given the common low quality age treatment, I would guess that most collectors would identify exactly what the origin of the blade was , and that it had been treated to try to make it look old.

And the vast bulk of these collectors have very, very little knowledge of how to apply the indicators of tangguh, or how to apply traditional Javanese standards.Still, they will identify a Madura blade falsely aged and presented as "old", probably nine times out of ten.

Where these collectors will fail to identify a falsely presented blade is where a serious forger has applied his skill to prepare a blade that will sell for big money.

However, the average collector based outside Jawa need not worry too much about this, because these collectors are not the target of the serious forger. The serious forger does not waste his talent on something that might sell for a few hundred dollars. He concentrates on the upper level market where keris change hands for values equivalent to motor vehicles and houses.

Yes, certainly there are some people with rather slight integrity who do apply their talents in the lower market areas, but even when they present something as being other than what it is, the amounts of money involved are not great and whether the falsely presented item is genuinely old , or falsely presented as such, it is still worth around about the same amount of money. The sad part of all this is that this false presentation by persons of a less than honest character damages the entire field of keris interest, and can be very discouraging for a newcomer. The only protection is to seek out somebody who does understand the keris and try to learn from that person.

For a new collector it is probably best to forget all about age, and collect on the basis of personal preference. Collect what appeals to you, not what somebody else tries to influence you to collect. The best approach of all could be to not collect at all until you have learnt at least a little bit about what makes a keris desireable.

But if you must collect, just remember that all education costs money.

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29th January 2007, 07:59 AM	#1
Buntel Mayit Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 7	Thank you Mr Maisey. It seems that it is absolutely not easy to spotting artificially aged blades. It takes enormous knowledge on keris which must be learned seriously and takes years. Does it necessarily mean that one should at least has a basic understanding on classic guide such as Mor-Ja-Si-Rap-Ngun plus Tangguh before judging a blade whether it is real old or artificial? Regards.

29th January 2007, 10:48 AM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Its probably not quite so simple as that. In my experience the bulk of keris collectors are mostly able to identify current era blades of Madura origin, whether actually made in Madura, or as a part of the current Madura tradition. Thus, if one of these blades is given the common low quality age treatment, I would guess that most collectors would identify exactly what the origin of the blade was , and that it had been treated to try to make it look old. And the vast bulk of these collectors have very, very little knowledge of how to apply the indicators of tangguh, or how to apply traditional Javanese standards.Still, they will identify a Madura blade falsely aged and presented as "old", probably nine times out of ten. Where these collectors will fail to identify a falsely presented blade is where a serious forger has applied his skill to prepare a blade that will sell for big money. However, the average collector based outside Jawa need not worry too much about this, because these collectors are not the target of the serious forger. The serious forger does not waste his talent on something that might sell for a few hundred dollars. He concentrates on the upper level market where keris change hands for values equivalent to motor vehicles and houses. Yes, certainly there are some people with rather slight integrity who do apply their talents in the lower market areas, but even when they present something as being other than what it is, the amounts of money involved are not great and whether the falsely presented item is genuinely old , or falsely presented as such, it is still worth around about the same amount of money. The sad part of all this is that this false presentation by persons of a less than honest character damages the entire field of keris interest, and can be very discouraging for a newcomer. The only protection is to seek out somebody who does understand the keris and try to learn from that person. For a new collector it is probably best to forget all about age, and collect on the basis of personal preference. Collect what appeals to you, not what somebody else tries to influence you to collect. The best approach of all could be to not collect at all until you have learnt at least a little bit about what makes a keris desireable. But if you must collect, just remember that all education costs money.