Bali Keris

[A. G. Maisey]

Gustav, my comment in respect of age for Thomas' silver dress was:-

"--- that did most definitely did originate in Bali during the late Colonial period, say 1890 to 1940.---" (the "that" is in reference to the silver dress).

My comment was in respect of what I consider to be the late colonial period in Bali, I am somewhat unwilling to be any more precise than "late colonial period" because with Bali it is far too easy to be misled.

In tend to be quite conservative when I estimate age for Balinese objects, not just keris, the reason being as above:- it is very easy to be misled by older items that appear stylistically very recent, & recent items that appear stylistically old.

For example, I have a gold hilt that was once the property of the Puri Badung, it predates the Denpasar puputan, but it has a very modern appearance.

In respect of ornamentation of Balinese pendoks, it would be a grave error to imagine that Balinese craftsmen & the Balinese people themselves, are always bound by rules that govern how and where ornamentation is applied. Some conventions are followed, certainly, but individuals will often move away from a convention & go their own way.

Yes, the embossing on Thomas' pendok does present both faces embossed in a way that is often seen on the reverse face only of a Balinese pendok, but this is in no way unusual, nor are the multitude of other variations in motif style & placement that we can meet with in Balinese work.

We can find Balinese pendoks that have both front face and rear face fully embossed, partially embossed & the panels of embossing distributed in a number of ways, & using motifs that are not bound by convention. Bali is not Jawa.

I agree that the art that is produced in Bali today is very far from what was produced prior to the influence of people such as Walter Spies & the other Europeans. In fact I do have a small collection of modern (post 1920) Balinese art, mostly carvings, around a hundred or so & a few Batuan style paintings. An Australian academic, Adrian Vickers has commented very well on this matter of Balinese art in "Bali: A Paradise Created" --- very thorough and an easy read.

Actually, Balinese art & culture, & the society itself is constantly changing, very much due to the tourist pressure.

Yesterday, 29 March, was Hari Nyepi in Bali, the "day of silence" & Balinese New Years Day. On New Years Eve, they have a big celebration, parading the Oguh-Ogohs up & down the street, crowds of people, each banjar creates an ogoh-ogoh that represents the evils of the year just past. Couple years back the children of one banjar built an ogoh-ogoh that was a demon school teacher, that was their idea of the previous year's evil. The day after Hari Nyepi, those ogoh-ogoh get burnt:- goodbye last year's evils, this year will be better.

Now, the bulk or tourists who come to Bali for this New Year's Eve celebration & the ogoh-ogohs believe that they are taking part in an old Balinese tradition.

Sorry, wrong.

What we see now developed during the 1980's and has continued to get bigger & better every year, it is a big tourist drawcard and it has developed as it is now purely because the tourists love it.

It used to be just a simple little thing, often just a personal thing, but these days its a big event.

Personally, I enjoy it myself, when possible I go to Bali a bit before Hari Nyepi, in time to take part in the Melasti ceremony and get blessed by the priests, that's a few days before Hari Nyepi & it is great experience.Hari Nyepi you are not allowed out of your residence, it is a day for meditation & contemplation.

I just got back from Bali a couple of weeks ago, I missed Melasti & Hari Nyepi this year, could not reorganise my committments.