Mandau for comment

[Amuk Murugul]

Originally Posted by Sajen

..... very positiv surprised and don't understand that it is not sold by the live auction, the price have been very cheap.
sajen

I tested my theory ( a generalisation, I know) at this auction and wasn't disappointed. People attending these auctions don't like items with imperfections/defects/deficiencies or 'cheap'-looking items when there are 'better'-looking, "WOW!" items available at the same auction. Sometimes too many items of the same type don't sell well either.
Hats off , however, to the collector who got the 'kingfisher' keris. More than I would be prepared to pay.

I whole-heartedly agree with ariel's comment, especially the first sentence. 'nuff said!

As for Dayak smithing, well, they've been working with metals longer than most people in the archipelago. After all, they were the first "Malay" people to settle the island, about 3k years ago and hence became "indigenous". OF COURSE their work is second to none.
You should see how they made long blow-pipes the traditional way. I saw one being made which took about one month!... selecting the single branch, standing it on its end and SLOWWLLYYY pushing a long thin metal rod down the centre, constantly wetting and pushing... etc. etc.

Best,