what a kris?

chregu · 4th February 2010, 09:59 PM

Hello together
have long been the keris, but unfortunately just do not know where it comes from or what tribe he had worn.
how old is he?
thank you for all the information

blade length: 35cm
handle length: 13cm
smells like rosewood?
gruss chregu

David · 4th February 2010, 10:07 PM

Sorry, but this is not an Indonesian keris, it is from the Philippines in the style kris of the Moro. This doesn't appear to be an old one, probably late 20th century. This forum is for Indo keris only so i am moving this to the main forum.

Battara · 5th February 2010, 12:45 AM

I agree that this seems to be a recent kris. The handle is wrong for this and recently made and the scabbard is also recently made looking to be possibly Maguindanao. Sorry.

Bill · 5th February 2010, 04:00 PM

Interesting & odd little kris. It almost looks like a composite piece with a barung hilt. But even the metal work on the hilt is odd.
The blade doesn't look like a tourist blade & everything shows some wear & a little age (50/60's?).
Could it have been a training kris for a boy? That might make sense using a barung type hilt so the mini sword doesn't slip out of a inexperienced hand.
I've seen some pretty young boys being trained with wooden bolo's in the Visayas, so it wouldn't surprise me somebody had this made for their boy.

chregu · 5th February 2010, 06:42 PM

I know it is not easy
so I am looking for specialists. New touristenkeris no! The blade is good! has wrought tracks! metal deposits are good, brass, copper, German silver.

David · 5th February 2010, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chregu

I know it is not easy
so I am looking for specialists. New touristenkeris no! The blade is good! has wrought tracks! metal deposits are good, brass, copper, German silver.

I don't anyone is suggesting it is new, just not an old one. It looks post WW2 to me. Could well be the late 50s or 60s. It definitely has some age to it.
Though i won't necessarily call this a tourist kris i must point out that brass, copper and silver materials are often used on them. This blade does seem a bit meatier than your average tourist blade. Most certainly though it has a mismatched hilt. This is not a kris hilt and clearly wasn't made for this blade.
It's size is unusually short for a Moro Kris at about 13 in. Bill thought about a child's blade might hold weight, but i wonder how much serious kris training kids still got in the Philippines of the 50s and 60s. Enough to warrant making a real blade for the workouts?

kai · 5th February 2010, 10:32 PM

Hello Christoph,

Welcome to the forum!

I agree that this is not one of those crappy blades (which don't deserve the name kris) made for ignorant travellers. However, Moro kris this small (and with fancy fittings/inlay) do seem to be a relatively recent development (WW2 and later) and the (barung) pommel style isn't old, too; IMHO the scabbard also doesn't suggest an origin much earlier than WW2.

Can you ascertain wether the unusual brass grip was made by the lost wax method?

BTW, are you sure that's not real silver utilized for parts of the inlay?

Regards,
Kai

4th February 2010, 09:59 PM	#1
chregu Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: switzerland Posts: 298	what a keris? Hello together have long been the keris, but unfortunately just do not know where it comes from or what tribe he had worn. how old is he? thank you for all the information blade length: 35cm handle length: 13cm smells like rosewood? gruss chregu Attached Images

4th February 2010, 10:07 PM	#2
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,024	Sorry, but this is not an Indonesian keris, it is from the Philippines in the style kris of the Moro. This doesn't appear to be an old one, probably late 20th century. This forum is for Indo keris only so i am moving this to the main forum.

5th February 2010, 12:45 AM	#3
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,139	I agree that this seems to be a recent kris. The handle is wrong for this and recently made and the scabbard is also recently made looking to be possibly Maguindanao. Sorry.

5th February 2010, 04:00 PM	#4
Bill Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Chicago area Posts: 327	Interesting & odd little kris. It almost looks like a composite piece with a barung hilt. But even the metal work on the hilt is odd. The blade doesn't look like a tourist blade & everything shows some wear & a little age (50/60's?). Could it have been a training kris for a boy? That might make sense using a barung type hilt so the mini sword doesn't slip out of a inexperienced hand. I've seen some pretty young boys being trained with wooden bolo's in the Visayas, so it wouldn't surprise me somebody had this made for their boy.

5th February 2010, 06:42 PM	#5
chregu Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: switzerland Posts: 298	I know it is not easy so I am looking for specialists. New touristenkeris no! The blade is good! has wrought tracks! metal deposits are good, brass, copper, German silver.

5th February 2010, 10:32 PM	#7
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,218	Hello Christoph, Welcome to the forum! I agree that this is not one of those crappy blades (which don't deserve the name kris) made for ignorant travellers. However, Moro kris this small (and with fancy fittings/inlay) do seem to be a relatively recent development (WW2 and later) and the (barung) pommel style isn't old, too; IMHO the scabbard also doesn't suggest an origin much earlier than WW2. Can you ascertain wether the unusual brass grip was made by the lost wax method? BTW, are you sure that's not real silver utilized for parts of the inlay? Regards, Kai