Where is this sheat from?

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Alam Shah

Allow me to define it further.. it was presented as an old authentic piece from Nias.. with supposedly age cracked ivory with patina.. Afaik, Nias does not have a keris culture, although to some extent, imported keris blades were used within certain Nias communities.

Does the ivory have age crack's? Wrong description (here Nias) is very common.

[Alam Shah]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Does the ivory have age crack's? Wrong description (here Nias) is very common.

I've not seen the piece in hand.. based on the single picture presented.. if you look at the shaft, there seems to be a long crack along the line to one side.. that's what I mean..

[Sajen]

The long crack I've seen but this is not exactly what I understand under age crack.

[Sajen]

BTW, I have got an old Coteng hilt (together with a keris) for my sheath.

Look here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...K%3AMEWNX%3AIT

And here the pictures from the well known seller.

[A. G. Maisey]

Sajen, this comment is not specifically directed at the hilt you have purchased, however, I've had a look at the items this seller lists for sale, and I was wondering exactly what sort of time span permits the description "old".

+100 years?

+ 50 years?

+ 20 years?

+ 5 years?

+ 12 months?

+24 hours?

Anybody have any ideas on what length of time makes "old" an acceptable description?

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Sajen, this comment is not specifically directed at the hilt you have purchased, however, I've had a look at the items this seller lists for sale, and I was wondering exactly what sort of time span permits the description "old".

I read that you are not directing your comment specifically at this hilt, but given it's placement do you have reason to believe that this hilt does not have any significant age?

[A. G. Maisey]

In respect of Sajen's hilt, I do not know, because I cannot see it clearly enough.

What generated my question was the the other "old" items I have seen on this site, which are not necessarily keris related.

The comment is not about Sajen's hilt, it is about the concept of old.

A few months ago a friend bought an "old" keris hilt from an ebay seller in Queensland. He showed it to me and asked my opinion. It was about as old as last weekend's Sydney Morning Herald.

When he queried the description of "old" with the seller he was told it was most certainly old, in that it was no longer "new" --- whatever that might mean.

So now I'm asking for opinions on what we might think "old" means.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Sajen, this comment is not specifically directed at the hilt you have purchased, however, I've had a look at the items this seller lists for sale, and I was wondering exactly what sort of time span permits the description "old".

+100 years?

+ 50 years?

+ 20 years?

+ 5 years?

+ 12 months?

+24 hours?

Anybody have any ideas on what length of time makes "old" an acceptable description?

Alan, I read a little bit in some pages at the net to get some informations. Antique is on the most pages described by an age fom 100 years + but also for example by furniture of Art Deco periode which can't be old like this.
Since antique is old in latin language and you want to take it by the word have to be "old" more than 100 years old.
But when you look to other items which are collected by people and often described as "old" you can't use this parameter.
I am with Kai Wee by this, twenty years can be "old".
I have had a look again to the sold items from this seller and I think that most of the items are described as old are more than 50 years old. But I have to say that I can be wrong by this since the pictures are not very clear.

[David]

Originally Posted by Sajen

I am with Kai Wee by this, twenty years can be "old".

I think that we need to discuss this question in regards to keris, not furniture or for that matter the moldy "old" tub of hummus sitting in the back of the fridge.
I don't think i would ever refer to a 20 year old keris as "old". I would probably call it "contemporary".
I would also like to remind everyone that Alan's question is an independent one, not based on this seller's eBay list. Let's keep the seller out of the conversation please.

[BluErf]

Originally Posted by Sajen

BTW, I have got an old Coteng hilt (together with a keris) for my sheath.

Look here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...K%3AMEWNX%3AIT

And here the pictures from the well known seller.

Nice blade! It deserves a proper dress. Try to get one commissioned in N. Malaysia!

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by BluErf

Nice blade! It deserves a proper dress. Try to get one commissioned in N. Malaysia!

Hallo Kai Wee, do you think that the dress which coming with the blade isn't a proper dress as well?
And what you think about the Coteng hilt?

[David]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Hallo Kai Wee, do you think that the dress which coming with the blade isn't a proper dress as well?
And what you think about the Coteng hilt?

Not Kai Wee of course but i would say that the sheath that came with this most certainly is not correct and that the pendokok also needs replacing as it is the wrong form and too large for the hilt.
Hopefully when you recieve this you can post some better photos of the hilt and blade. The Coteng hilt appears authentic and of some age (whatever that means ), but the photos are really poor and making any real assessments here is difficult.

[Alam Shah]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Hallo Kai Wee, do you think that the dress which coming with the blade isn't a proper dress as well?
And what you think about the Coteng hilt?

The dress is not appropriate for the hilt or blade.. The blade looks Pattani to me.. a nice blade indeed, (a pity I couldn't get it myself). The blade deserves new fittings in classic Pattani form. A 'tebeng' sheath with a Pekaka hilt would look appropriate. The hilt ring can be reused with the new hilt. The nice Coteng hilt can sit by itself on a hilt stand, if there's nothing matching for it.. The Malay Bugis sheath, you could try with your Malay Bugis (Terengganu) blade.. the one with the broken kembang kacang.. (just a suggestion).