The Knaud

[A. G. Maisey]

Earlier this year David Van Duuren's new book on the Knaud Keris was published.

It is a book that has been written using the notes and research that Mr. Van Duuren prepared & carried out twenty years ago when The Knaud was rediscovered and he had it in his hands.

It provides a very revealing backstory that relates to Charles Knaud and his acquisition of the keris.

This book answers a lot of the questions that serious students of the keris have mulled over for many years.

It also raises some questions, questions that could perhaps be quite interesting to investigate further.

Has anybody here read this book, and if so, what questions might Mr. Van Duuren's expose of The Knaud raise?

[Rick]

"39 pp.; 15 illustrations. Leiden, 2022. Pbk. After more than 100 years, a long-lost keris resurfaced in the Netherlands: the legendary "Knaud kris". In literature, this item was named after Charles Knaud, who acquired it at the end of the 19th century as a gift from a Javanese ruler. This extra-ordinary keris won an award during an art and craft exhibition held at Batavia (1884), was cast in plaster by the museum of the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences and discussed by the renowned Indologist dr. N.J. Krom, Head of the Archaeological Service in the Dutch East Indies, in his standard work (1920) on the art of ancient Java. The Knaud keris is now on display at the Amsterdam Tropenmuseum, where it is kept on a long-term loan. This publication is the first to present the historico-cultural uniqueness of this keris along with its adornments and date. It is comprehensively dealt with beginning with its anecdotal acquisition by C. Knaud on Java up to its discovery in the vault of a Dutch bank. The rich symbolism and mythological scenes are discussed in detail, as is the laboratory research into the metal and metal alloy utilised when forging the blade. An analysis confirms N.J. Krom's presumption it is not only a very special artefact created in East Java during the 14th century but also that, considering its history and style, it must be linked to the temple site of Panataran which dates from the Majapahit era."

[A. G. Maisey]

Thanks Rick.

I considered putting up something like this, but I figured that somebody would need to already know what The Knaud is before they can answer.

But that little introduction itself is a real good lead in, because what is actually written in it does itself raise questions.

In this thread, I do not want to raise the questions myself, I would like other people to see if they can raise questions similar to my own.

[Rafngard]

I have read the book and greatly enjoyed it.

I thought that seeing the 1920 photo in comparison to the 2021 photos was almost physically painful. Beyond that, I'm not sure I'm knowledgeable on the subject to say much, but I very much hope to see more knowledgeable forums members comment on the book.

Thanks,
Leif

[A. G. Maisey]

Thank you for your comment Lief.

I'm hoping that some people with knowledge of early keris, and marketing practice in Jawa, and indeed, marketing practice to collectors in the rest of the world, also take time to think through a few things.

[JustYS]

I’ll jump in.

Disclaimer: I don’t have the book and I’m not knowledgeable in Keris.

I’ve found the following sentence (particularly in bold) intriguing:

"An analysis confirms N.J. Krom's presumption it is not only a very special artefact created in East Java during the 14th century but also that, considering its history and style, it must be linked to the temple site of Panataran which dates from the Majapahit era."

Keris shown in Candi Panataran as far as I know is leaf shape Keris with very basic features such as gandhik polos (non figural gandhik), whereas the Knaud Keris clearly show a figural gandhik and on top of that there are also some detailed carvings on the blade’s surface.

I’m interested to know what analysis confirms that the Knaud Keris was created during the 14th century?

Best Regards,

JustYS