First post: A Balinese Keris

[milandro]

thank you, for your comments.

I am still looking for an interpretation of the meaning and origin of the figures on the warangka and pendok

[A. G. Maisey]

Milandro, the "meaning" of the ornamentation, I would take to be purely for the sake of ornamentation.

This is a reasonably modern scabbard & hilt, it is fairly pedestrian work, and from the photos it appears to be carved in relief before the sunggingan work was applied.

I cannot think of any Balinese use for this sort of dress, other than to make it more attractive for sale.

The blade is not really curved, rather, it is straight on one edge and has a very slight swelling on the other edge, which causes it to look as if it has a curve. If we look closely at the pamor on the side of the blade with the straight edge, we can see that the wengkon is missing.

In my opinion I feel that this blade probably had some damage to the straight edge side, maybe a couple of nicks, or perhaps a crack, this damage was cleaned up and in the process the edge became straight and part of the wengkon was lost.

In any case, it is an old keris, it is Balinese, it is reasonably attractive, and as a beginning part of a collection, it is not a bad acquisition.

[David]

I agree with Alan's assessment here. This is an antique Bali blade in a kitschy modern dress. As Alan pointed out, this sheath would have no proper place for wear within Balinese society and is something made more to attract the eye of visitors from outside the culture. So i wouldn't look for too much meaning in it. The sheath is certainly newer than the blade, but was probably not very old when this was collected. A 19th century blade in vintage touristy dress.
I also agree with Kai that this has an old Bali stain that is in fairly good shape. I would not try to re-do it as the technique of maintaining a polish after applying warangan is difficult at best. Oil it and preserve it.
And i will add that again, there is no pendok with this ensemble. A pendok is a metal sleeve that covers all or part of the sheath stem. This keris as well as the other keris you posted do not have pendoks.

[A. G. Maisey]

You reckon its a pendok David?

Could be I suppose.

I thought it was the wood carved to imitate a pendok.

[GIO]

A good blade which deserves another hilt and scabbard. The hilt in question is recent and mass-produced.

[A. G. Maisey]

GIO, I agree that the hilt is recent, but it is most definitely not mass-produced.

Mass-production is a factory based process where a product is standardised and produced as many objects exactly the same in a production line.

This hilt was carved and decorated as an individual piece.

It is likely that several craftsmen were involved in its production, and this is totally normal in virtually all fields of Balinese/Javanese craft work, but this hilt most certainly did not come off any production line as a standardised product.

[GIO]

[QUOTE=A. G. Maisey;269187]GIO, I agree that the hilt is recent, but it is most definitely not mass-produced.


You are right, Alan. When I wrote the post I had in mind the kris of Marius66.
I take this opportunity to wish to you and to your family a happy 2024.
Gio

[David]

Originally Posted by GIO

A good blade which deserves another hilt and scabbard. The hilt in question is recent and mass-produced.

I agree with Alan in the hilt. Recent, but certainly not "mass-produced".
As for the sarong, i have to admit that it has a certain "charm". It is certainly not saying it is something that would be acceptable for cultural wear. It is decorative and i'm not really sure exactly why it would have been created this way, except perhaps, as i suggested, to attract the eye of tourists. But i am not a Balinese man and would never have a reason to wear this keris in public. As a collector though i see it as a somewhat interesting example of Balinese decorative arts of that era. Unlike the sarongs that we most often see on those nasty cookie cutter tourist keris, this one is unique and i would consider accepting this keris dressed as is, especially if this sheath was indeed carved specifically to fit this blade. Call me crazy. LOL!

[milandro]

the scene depicted on the Top is certainly from the Ramayana and shows the golden deer which appears to Rama and Lakshmana

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

You reckon its a pendok David?

Could be I suppose.

I thought it was the wood carved to imitate a pendok.

I may have confused you with a typo (i originally wrote "there is now pendok with this ensemble", now corrected). But i have not changed my last sentence of my post at all where i stated This keris as well as the other keris you posted do not have pendoks".
So no, i do not reckon it's a pendok at all.