Bali keris with inscriptions / inlays
 

Good day,

This evening I visited a collector with many interesting keris'.
Among them 1 with insriptions.
He had no information about the inscriptions, so I am posting some picture here to share.
Is there anybody who can read these inscriptions ?

Thanks and best regards,
Willem

it's the repetition of the 'syahadah'... muslim profession of faith... laillah ha illallah... muhammadulrasullullah... there is no god but GOD, and muhammad is the prophet of GOD

Seems a bit strange for a Bali keris to have Islamic inscription, though there is indeed a minority Islamic population on Bali of about 13%. :shrug:

There is a big population of Muslims in the North of Bali around Singaraya.

Don't forget Lombok, and East Coast Jawa too, in both these areas Balinese keris are pretty common.

Then we have Madura, and there was a trend in Madura towards Bali style going back to around the time of PBII.

Bali style does not necessarily always mean Bali origin.

Thank you.
And on the ganja, is this the same ?

Best regards,
Willem

Hello Willem,

Thanks for posting this piece!

Could you also show pics of the whole blade and its fittings, please?

Regards,
Kai

the writing on the ganja is " bismillahirrahmanirrahim"... in the name of Allah, the most merciful , the most benificient.