Does cleaning a keris hurt overall value or patina?

A. G. Maisey · 18th January 2011, 01:52 AM

David, when I mentioned market segments, I was thinking in terms of all those people who do buy keris, not necessarily keris collectors.

With keris collectors, and simply weapons collectors who buy the occasional keris, there is mostly an acceptance that some maintenance work on things is not only acceptable, but necessary. Some of these people may prefer complete restorations, others may want graduations of that, still others will only touch a piece if it has been removed from place of origin a long time ago and recently discovered in the bottom of granddad's sea chest.

However, when we consider the preferences of tribal art collectors, most especially the really hard core of this segment, the demand for absolutely no interference with "as found" condition can go to extreme lengths.

18th January 2011, 01:52 AM	#22
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	David, when I mentioned market segments, I was thinking in terms of all those people who do buy keris, not necessarily keris collectors. With keris collectors, and simply weapons collectors who buy the occasional keris, there is mostly an acceptance that some maintenance work on things is not only acceptable, but necessary. Some of these people may prefer complete restorations, others may want graduations of that, still others will only touch a piece if it has been removed from place of origin a long time ago and recently discovered in the bottom of granddad's sea chest. However, when we consider the preferences of tribal art collectors, most especially the really hard core of this segment, the demand for absolutely no interference with "as found" condition can go to extreme lengths.