Another Bali Keris

[A. G. Maisey]

Yes, glass, but that's being a bit simple.

Paste glass is leaded glass & in antique jewellery it is quite collectable.

The little imitation stones that we find in Bali & Jawa keris dress are seldom true pastes, they're usually glass.

In Balinese art & ornamentation the end effect is important, the way that effect is achieved is not important. I have a royal quality Balinese keris hilt, 22K gold, exquisite workmanship, some of the stones are natural some are paste, one is glass, then there is one diamond also.

The uwer on this keris is of a type that virtually always has glass enhancements. Whether the stones are natural or imitation has absolutely no effect on value at all, unless those stones are of jewel quality, which is something rarely encountered.

The keris in the first photo is pretty OK too, wrongko looks like Tegal, looks like it needs a pendok.

[Pendita65]

Mr. Maisey,

The Tegal warangka and the gandar doesn't fit well my guess is that it is a replacement and the Keris does not fit so well. That's why i called it a Frankenstein.
But the warangka is a nice model, so it need some attention.

Regards, Martin

and yes i do understand your explanation off the pastes.

[A. G. Maisey]

Yes Martin, I can see the poor fit of gandar to atasan, but does the keris fit into the scabbard acceptably?

In an older keris it is not at all unusual for a gandar to be replaced with another that does not fit so well, this is usually hidden under a pendok & if necessary the gandar itself is wrapped with cloth, or sometimes only paper.

[Gustav]

It looks like the Gandar on Tegal Keris is backwards. If that is the case, you need to separate Atasan and Gandar to see if the blade fits.

[A. G. Maisey]

True.

[Sajen]

Hello Martin,

The Bali keris is a very nice one, well done!

The Tegal keris is worth a similar effort!

Regards,
Detlef

[Pendita65]

Hi Detlef,

It’s Martin. 😉

And will take some better pictures from the Tegal and share it.

Regards, Martin