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Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey
The other keris with the kinatah work I personally would accept as a legitimate keris produced during the current era. It appears to be a Madura production, but that in and of itself does not make it less of a keris. It possesses the essential elements to make it a keris and it could very easily serve the social function of a dress keris.
Now I come to think of it, the "souvenir" keris could also serve the social function of a dress keris, even though this type of blade was offered for sale in souvenir booths in Bali and Jogja in years past, I haven't actually seen many, if any, during recent years.
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I totally agree with you Alan which is why i chose to continue using the word "tourist" in quotations. I believe it was you who once saw a cardboard cutout serving as a keris in a dress function. But while it may not be exactly accurate on all counts, keris like the brass (i assume this is not gold) "kintanah" example are often enough offered up to the tourist market and can be found all over eBay. I don't think this necessarily means this is not a "legitimate" keris.
I am not so sure the same can be said of the acid and wax creation. We only have the one photo so there is not much to go on. Is this a forged blade or a cutout that has been patterned with acid and wax? It doesn't seem to have been created with a legitimate keris making method to me, but in hand it may show differently. I don't think poor quality makes the difference between "real" and "legitimate", but methodology does. You are also correct that in a pinch it could be used in a social dress situation. But then so could the cardboard cutout you once noted and i would have a hard time defending that as a "legitimate" keris even if it was used for a real indigenous social occasion.
So while "tourist keris" is a term that is not always exactly accurate i think most of us understand it as a qualifier of poor quality or of keris that are reproductions of classic form (i.e. naga sosro and/or heavy brass "kinatah" blades done in lesser quality and materials). These keris can and sometime are used in "legitimate" situations, but there are blades that are not what they allude to be.
