Seeking Information on Keris

[elsquibble]

Hello everyone I'm new here.

I've recently acquired a keris and I'm seeking some opinions on it. Having never owned one before I don't know much about it. I can't find any with a similar handle so I'm not sure that is correct.

Hopefully someone can give me some information, I have done a bit of reading and there are so many variations it must take years of experience to be able to accurately identify one of these, they truly are a fascinating subject.

I have attached some photos of the keris in question.

Thanks.

[Marcokeris]

The old hilt seems to come from true tribal Art...never i have seen together a keris before. Nice old dress <3 ... About the blade I don't know what to say but surely I like

[jagabuwana]

Welcome elsquibble, glad you found your way here.

When I saw this on another forum I was quite thrown by both handle and blade. Riau or Bugis came to mind when it came to the sheath. As for the blade, the blumbangan looked oddly wide/big to my eye and the gusen (angled edges) looked inconsistent in a way that I haven't seen before.

Would be interested to hear other opinions about this one.

[kai]

I’m with Marco: Nice scabbard!

The hilt most certainly is a non-traditional concoction. This should be easy to replace.

The blade deserves a thorough cleaning. It originally was a straight blade that got altered by stock removal to become somewhat undulated - if this was done by any Indonesian, he (or she) should be exiled!

Sorry for the bad news. If you hide the blade in the (cleaned) scabbard and get a suitable hilt+pendokok (search for Bugis on this forum and especially look for pieces with very similar scabbards), this still will make a nice display. Don’t worry, most of us have done worse with our first keris...

Regards,
Kai

[elsquibble]

Not so good then, what do you mean by stock removal Kai? I will give it a clean soon. It looks good hanging on my wall and I suppose that's what matters most I agree the sheath look like Bugis after looking at some photos. Thanks for your help.

[Marcokeris]

I wouldn't clean it but only change the handle and, if necessary, the pendok

[kai]

what do you mean by stock removal Kai?

Along the center of the blade runs a kind of straight plateau; this is bordered by broad sides sloping towards the edge (i.e. the blade being hexagonal). The sides have been heavily grinded to achieve an undulating look which wasn't originally intended (if so, the center would also be undulating).

I agree the sheath look like Bugis after looking at some photos.

It's probably Riau to be more specific. However, a hilt for a keris Riau does not need to be from that very area - lots of Bugis-influenced hilt styles to be found throughout the greater Straits area.

Regards,
Kai