should I or shouldn't I change and repair

[kai]

Hello Nik,

Recently I acquired several kerises that were originally belonged to Edward Frey and featured in his book The Kris : Mystic Weapon of the Malay World.

I can see why you were anxious to get these - glad things went well finally!

BTW, I don't see this tajong (nor hilt) featured in Frey's book, is it?

(1) Since these items can be considered 'historical' as they are featured in a well known book should I correct this mistake?

either by finding an old tajong scabbard ( quite possible for me to do as I live in Keris making community in Malaysia) or take off the tajong hilt and replace with more suitable ones (eg Jawa Demam or Patah tiga )?

(2) I can get some keris maker to repair the chipped hilt. Should I do this or leave it alone?

What is the usual acceptable thing to do in this situation. On the one hand I like to preserve the item in it's original state, but on the other I feel it should be restored correctly.

I don't think there is any universally accepted protocol here...

Thus, just a few personal comments and I hope others will also contribute their POV!

Re #2: I can see very little reason not to repair any small defects, especially since you have access to knowledgeable craftsmen. I'd just try to make sure that the wood quality is perfectly matching (which may mean some waiting until such can be sourced).

Re #1: I'd feel no obligation to keep any "historical" ensemble if it is demonstrably incorrect. OTOH, I'd keep the 2 resulting keris as a pair and also put written documentation about provenance and subsequent changes next to them; this should make sure that the additional value of provenance doesn't get lost.


IMVHO Edward Frey was one of the (many) early keris enthusiasts and took some effort to do a literature survey of available publications, visited some notable museum collections and, after 2 years (and over 30 years of collecting), published a small book. While it would not be fair to judge a publication which is over 30 years old by current knowledge, I do not see any notable ethnographic discoveries disclosed - it's more of a review of already known facts thought to be well established at the time of writing. Thus, I don't see much of a legacy which could stipulate to keep this keris as found.


Incidentally, I'm wondering, how many northern keris Melayu that have reasonably well-established provenance as being early collected exhibit such a mixed combo of tajong hilt with the tanggah scabbard? (Of course, we also need stats for the other 2 combos, too!) It would be great if forumites were to add info on any complete examples (collected during the 19th century or earlier) here! Some from the early 20th c. may also qualify if the collecting context assures an original ensemble.

Please report:
1. tajong hilt + tajong scabbard (ladrang of Kelantan/Pattani style)
2. tajong hilt + tanggah scabbard ( of Kelantan/Pattani style)
3. Kerdas or JD hilt + tanggah scabbard (both of Kelantan/Pattani style)

Regards,
Kai