Palembang keris?

[kai]

I'm with Alan, David.

A plain suasa pendok is the norm in Palembang for high-end pieces. Obviously, these are only a fraction of all keris Palembang.

Quite a few ensembles lost such pendok later on. Thus, they are not very common; still, there are enough examples in musea and old collections to prove this local preference.

Regards,
Kai

[kai]

Hello Peter,

Please post close-ups of the wood under strong daylight after some TLC. This will help to estimate the quality of the timber utuilized for the fittings.

The hilt definitely is of high quality material.

Also please take close-up of the crosspiece before cleaning/treatment - sometimes a "shadow" from the pendok can be discernible under strong light.

Regards,
Kai

[David]

Originally Posted by kai

A plain suasa pendok is the norm in Palembang for high-end pieces. Obviously, these are only a fraction of all keris Palembang.

hmmm...maybe i should have the metal tested on the pendok on my high end Palembang keris. I have always assumed it was brass.

[kai]

The difference is very obvious to the eye, David!

[kai]

Here's an example that hasn't been repolished for quite a while:

[David]

Originally Posted by kai

The difference is very obvious to the eye, David!

LOL! Yes Kai, i was making a joke. Sorry it went past you.
Just my way of wondering how something can be the "norm" while at the same time existing only in a "fraction" of examples.