Keris and Rembrandt

[David]

Yes, i think this is clearly a keris and i hope that from the enlargements made you see this as well Alan. From the look of what i can see of the hilt i think it's a fair bet that it is the same keris Rembrandt depicts in this painting. From what i know he owned a couple of examples which he used as models for his paintings.

[David]

Here is another Rembrandt, a self-portrait, which is most commonly titles "Self-Portrait as an Oriental Pontentate With A Kris". Here we see an asymmetric blade and a rather vague Kacang Kembang, but the blade itself is a very unusal one and i have a feeling that some artistic license was taken here to create a fanasty keris based upon examples he had or had seen.

[Rick]

Okay, this begs the question ;

In the blinding of Sampson what does the use of a keris represent ?

In what light was the keris viewed by European culture in that time ?

[David]

Good question Rick. It is, after all, the blade that does the "evil" deed of blinding him.
I don't know if this will look any clearer, but i found this better than average version for clarity and blew it up as much as i dared. I am sure that the original color is off, but hopefully it will clearly show this to be a keris.

[ganjawulung]

Was the sheath Banten "sandang walikat"? If yes, then Cirebonese "buta hilt" would match with Bantenese walikat.... Just guessing. For comparison, (picture) is Bantenese warangka but not sandang walikat. Banten warangka, could seem as if symetrical, although the blade inside doesn't need to be symetrical.

Just one cent opinion...

GANJAWULUNG

[Gustav]

Originally Posted by ganjawulung

Was the sheath Banten "sandang walikat"? If yes, then Cirebonese "buta hilt" would match with Bantenese walikat.... Just guessing. For comparison, (picture) is Bantenese warangka but not sandang walikat. Banten warangka, could seem as if symetrical, although the blade inside doesn't need to be symetrical.

Just one cent opinion...

GANJAWULUNG

The sheath on the picture is not sandang walikat (nobody has said that), but an old (probably broken) ladrang form, seen also in old european collections. It is very close to the Banten wrongko you posted, all preserved examples are Gandar Iras.

[asomotif]

Here is a picture of his "Kunstcaemer"

At this moment I have no Idea if the items on display are genuinely from rembrandts time...

[David]

Hmmm....well i do see a keris on the wall in the middle next to a bust. It would be cool if this stuff actually was his personal affects.

[Gustav]

Originally Posted by Rick

Okay, this begs the question ;

In the blinding of Sampson what does the use of a keris represent ?

In what light was the keris viewed by European culture in that time ?

Probably the art keris was used was evident very early to the europeans - there is a report of a man named Henry Middleton from 1605, where a javanese sailor stabs to death with a "cryse" a dutch official, an eye-witness and another javanese, which resembles later reports about running amok or amuk.

I guess, becouse such situations, very quick and probably unexpected use of keris is beying connected with the fierce character of the javanese and bugis (Careri in 1695 says, orang laut draw their "crisis" out of the sheaths for the slightest reason), and has become also character associated with keris.

There is also one european epigraph on a sheath of a keris from Dresden collection, 17.cent., which says: "...brings fortune or misfortune". So some of the "keris mythology" were probably also evident to the europeans.

Interesting are the mentions of figural keris hilts, as depictions of devil (Levinium Hulsius, 1606).