Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

BluErf · 27th November 2010, 07:57 AM

G'day Alan,

You have articulated the issue very well. The point about where our values lie and how we look at kerises is indeed key to whether we embrace certain types of kerises and reject other types.

In terms of the artistry of a keris, standards shift with time. The older kerises which with 'quiet' controlled grace may look less impressive compared to a flamboyant OTT new keris screaming for attention. And that seems to be the direction that a lot of the newly-made kerises are taking - it needs to 'wow' the viewer in an instance. But maybe 3 months down the road, it doesn't look so good any more. The viewer feels saturated by the overdone features.

And then, there is the issue of practicality. A Malay keris made in the traditional method should stand up to use, at least in an emergency. Newly made kerises are not expected to be used, and many would get dents and dinks on the edges or tip the moment it is brought into contact with something hard, like a stone countertop, for instance. Is this still considered a keris? If a newly made katana is not quenched properly, but has the most beautiful metal grain and form, is it still a katana? I don't know what is the standard that collectors expect of newly made kerises, but would the easily deformed kerises mentioned above be considered true kerises?

So I guess what I've written reflects my personal values I use to assess kerises. Maybe what I consider KLOs are accepted as good solid pieces by others, and I would say maybe I could be wrong in the long run, because in any collecting hobbies, it is what the majority of the collectors want and appreciate that matters, not the quirky/stubborn individual.

About pictures of KLOs. Now that is difficult because I have not thought about keeping any of those as examples. Even if I have, it could be socially suicidal to post them because it would invariably offend some one.

27th November 2010, 07:57 AM	#6
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	G'day Alan, You have articulated the issue very well. The point about where our values lie and how we look at kerises is indeed key to whether we embrace certain types of kerises and reject other types. In terms of the artistry of a keris, standards shift with time. The older kerises which with 'quiet' controlled grace may look less impressive compared to a flamboyant OTT new keris screaming for attention. And that seems to be the direction that a lot of the newly-made kerises are taking - it needs to 'wow' the viewer in an instance. But maybe 3 months down the road, it doesn't look so good any more. The viewer feels saturated by the overdone features. And then, there is the issue of practicality. A Malay keris made in the traditional method should stand up to use, at least in an emergency. Newly made kerises are not expected to be used, and many would get dents and dinks on the edges or tip the moment it is brought into contact with something hard, like a stone countertop, for instance. Is this still considered a keris? If a newly made katana is not quenched properly, but has the most beautiful metal grain and form, is it still a katana? I don't know what is the standard that collectors expect of newly made kerises, but would the easily deformed kerises mentioned above be considered true kerises? So I guess what I've written reflects my personal values I use to assess kerises. Maybe what I consider KLOs are accepted as good solid pieces by others, and I would say maybe I could be wrong in the long run, because in any collecting hobbies, it is what the majority of the collectors want and appreciate that matters, not the quirky/stubborn individual. About pictures of KLOs. Now that is difficult because I have not thought about keeping any of those as examples. Even if I have, it could be socially suicidal to post them because it would invariably offend some one.