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#1 |
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Can somebody please enlighten me who the guy of this Balinese Keris hilt is?
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#2 |
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I think many might describe him as Bayu the father of Bhima. Here is my own example in brass with a gold wash.
Last edited by David; 16th January 2016 at 08:10 PM. |
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#3 |
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Marius, one of the problems in identification of the characters depicted in Balinese hilts is that very often these characters are not sculpted in a way that will permit identification by the use of the traditional indicators.
With a hilt that has been recently made, such as the one on the keris you have shown, it is nearly always quite impossible to affix any sort of positive identification to the character shown. The reason for this is that the artists who make these hilts no longer necessarily follow traditional patterns; they set out to create an art work, rather than a culturally accurate representation of a deity or folk character. Occasionally we may be able to find one or more attributes that will allow us to say that a particular hilt is intended to show such & such a character, but even then, it will be a rare occasion when we can claim a positive, inarguable identification. A couple of years ago, Bapak Sutejo Neka, owner of the Neka Gallery in Ubud, a member of the Pande Clan, and one of Bali's acknowledged authorities on Balinese art, wrote a little book on Balinese keris (Understanding Balinese Keris). When he describes Balinese keris hilts, his identifications of the characters very often become something like:- "a royal figure", "a representation of a king". If this is the best that one of the leading authorities on Balinese keris art can do, I rather feel that people such as ourselves should not expect to always be able to fix a name on a character depicted in a Balinese keris hilt. |
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#4 |
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I understand, and that explains why there is so much confusion about this topic. Thank you very much!
In May I will go to Indonesia and I am planing to get a few kerises from there. Can you please give me some hints where I can find some? What about this "Neka" gallery in Ubud. Do they have kerises for sale as I will be in Ubud for at least a couple of days? |
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#5 | |
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#6 |
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David, I do not suggest for one moment that this hilt under discussion can be described as a royal figure, I used this term simply to demonstrate that one of Bali's foremost authorities on the art of his homeland is frequently unable to give a positive identification of the figures depicted in totogan hilts.
Speaking for myself, these days I am extremely hesitant to give a positive identification of a Balinese hilt unless the indicators are inarguable. I cannot disagree that both of the hilts shown might be Bayu. Equally, I am not able to agree that both hilts definitely are intended to be Bayu, in spite of the long standing identification of this hilt form by keris collectors, as Bayu. Maybe Bayu, may not be Bayu. I simply do not know for certain, so I reserve my opinion. Actually, the way I read your initial post, you are saying pretty much the same thing:- "--- many might describe him as Bayu ---" Here is another of the same form. |
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#7 | |
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In his previous book "Keris Bali Bersejarah" Pande Wayan Suteja Neka does identify most of the "royal" figures depicted on togogan hilts (Prabu Ratmaja, Dewa Indra, etc.), however he just describes few of them as Prabu or Prabu kreasi baru (new creation). It is surprising that none of these figures is identified as Bayu although many of the figures which he calls Prabu Ratmaja are very similar to the ones attributed to Bayu. What a confusion! Regards ![]() |
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#8 | |
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#9 |
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Yes, it appears to be the same "Bayu" guy! Thank you!
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#10 | |
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