A Bugis-Makasar keris

A. G. Maisey · 25th October 2024, 03:32 AM

To classify a keris blade we do not use style alone, & I agree that we cannot use just style to provide the probability of geographic point of origin of a keris blade. This is the reason I qualified my comments with a reference to style.

Further, in classification of a keris blade as "Bugis", that classification is cultural, rather than geographic. The reason for this is the diaspora of the Bugis people:- Bugis style blades have been produced in many places other than South Sulawesi.

In Jawa we tend to work on blade classification more or less through a progression of eliminations:- it is not this, it is not that, it is certainly not such & such --- so what else do we have left?

Javanese style blades have been copied in other places than Jawa, I'm talking Land of Jawa, not Island of Jawa, & these can be difficult to differentiate from Made in The Land of Jawa, however, there is usually some indicator or other that will reveal that a blade has probably not been made in Jawa, & often some other indicator that will cause an experienced & knowledgeable person to nominate a possible locality of origin.

It is pretty much a matter of experience & how & where one learnt the craft. Really, this job of classification in accordance with the Javanese practice of tangguh is something that only a keris specialist (ahli keris) is qualified to carry out with some possibility of overwhelming agreement from others, the ordinary keris interested person will have inconsistent opinions & see things in a different way depending upon his emotions --- or maybe which way the wind is blowing.

The illustration you have shown is of no use at all in providing sufficient grounds to form an opinion on what that illustration shows. In fact, even the very best photograph, taken by an expert photographer, can only provide very limited information that might be useful in determination of the classification of a keris blade. One cannot feel the weight, balance nor texture of a blade from a photo, & that's just for a start.

There is a book:- "Senjata Pusaka Bugis", every keris blade shown in that book is easily identifiable as fitting a Bugis classification.

The blade you have shown is most definitely not Bugis in style. It might be Javanese in style, but whether or not it was made in Jawa is open to question & something that I cannot comment upon using only a photograph.

25th October 2024, 03:32 AM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,019	To classify a keris blade we do not use style alone, & I agree that we cannot use just style to provide the probability of geographic point of origin of a keris blade. This is the reason I qualified my comments with a reference to style. Further, in classification of a keris blade as "Bugis", that classification is cultural, rather than geographic. The reason for this is the diaspora of the Bugis people:- Bugis style blades have been produced in many places other than South Sulawesi. In Jawa we tend to work on blade classification more or less through a progression of eliminations:- it is not this, it is not that, it is certainly not such & such --- so what else do we have left? Javanese style blades have been copied in other places than Jawa, I'm talking Land of Jawa, not Island of Jawa, & these can be difficult to differentiate from Made in The Land of Jawa, however, there is usually some indicator or other that will reveal that a blade has probably not been made in Jawa, & often some other indicator that will cause an experienced & knowledgeable person to nominate a possible locality of origin. It is pretty much a matter of experience & how & where one learnt the craft. Really, this job of classification in accordance with the Javanese practice of tangguh is something that only a keris specialist (ahli keris) is qualified to carry out with some possibility of overwhelming agreement from others, the ordinary keris interested person will have inconsistent opinions & see things in a different way depending upon his emotions --- or maybe which way the wind is blowing. The illustration you have shown is of no use at all in providing sufficient grounds to form an opinion on what that illustration shows. In fact, even the very best photograph, taken by an expert photographer, can only provide very limited information that might be useful in determination of the classification of a keris blade. One cannot feel the weight, balance nor texture of a blade from a photo, & that's just for a start. There is a book:- "Senjata Pusaka Bugis", every keris blade shown in that book is easily identifiable as fitting a Bugis classification. The blade you have shown is most definitely not Bugis in style. It might be Javanese in style, but whether or not it was made in Jawa is open to question & something that I cannot comment upon using only a photograph.