RSWORD

It has been a bit quiet again so thought I would post a few unusual examples for comment. This one is unusual to me for several reasons. The first is the handle. Has a very naturalistic curving shape and is a nice wood with pretty grain. The second is the blade. Not sure if this is a repurposed spear blade but it is very stout with very deep channels and just a few luk. Also unusual is the guard or mendak. It is horn, possibly rhino horn, of unusual almost Chinese cloud motif design. Looking forward to your comments and feedback.

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RSWORD

Some more pictures of this interesting Keris.

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A. G. Maisey

This is not a keris. My inclination is to call it a "flamboyant bladed dagger".

The blade might have been the blade of a keris at one time, but from what I can see in the pics, it probably was not.

RSWORD

Thank you for the feedback Alan. I'm wondering if this was commissioned or put together in Sumatra or Malaysia. The scabbard seems stylistically of this region and the handle seems reminiscent of a keris handle. The "mendak" seems like what you see on a keris. So while we can't call this a keris it seems to be somewhat put together like a keris. Pure speculation obviously because we will never know.

David

Well, Alan is, of course right. This is not a keris. Nor do i believe this interesting and beautiful dagger was adapted from a keris. So i am tempt to send it over to Ethno as we only discuss keris on this side.
BTW, i do not see anything that resembles a mendak. It does have a feature that might be called a selut on the base of the hilt. And that strange guard is like nothing you find on a keris.