A whole lot of keris!

[kai]

Hi Lew,

Originally Posted by LOUIEBLADES

Did the Dutch soldiers carry these keris at one time early in the 20th century?

AFAIK the Dutch army never issued military keris - as evinced by the widespread notion of it being an unsuitable weapon amongst outsiders, I guess it was never thought worthy by the Dutch military leaders. I'm not sure wether Indonesian recruits were allowed to carry their own keris as an back-up. If so, I'm pretty sure this would have been a traditional scabbard and not leather. This leather piece looks pretty intact and hasn't seen much use in tropical climate (if any - I also guess this was done in Europe).

Regards,
Kai