By a collector, for collectors

A. G. Maisey · 13th July 2017, 10:26 PM

Our valued friend and regular contributor to this Forum, Jean Greffioz has written another book about the keris. I have just completed a reading of this new book and I must say that I am very impressed.

This could well be the book that many collectors have been waiting for:- it is a book that has been written by a collector, for collectors.

In my experience, most keris collectors have the same two primary questions whenever they see or handle a keris:-

where is it from?

how old is it?

As a collector's knowledge increases and along with that knowledge, his curiosity also increases, he begins to focus on the individual parts that comprise the complete keris:-

what type of scabbard is this?

what is this pamor called?

what is the name of this type of hilt?

In recent years a number of books written by Indonesian authors, and published in Bahasa Indonesia, the national language of Indonesia, have been published that do address these questions, but for collectors in the western world that information is very often somewhere between extremely difficult and impossible to access.

Jean is able to read and understand Bahasa Indonesia, and he has used these books published in Bahasa Indonesia as his principal source of information for his new book, thus he has opened the door to a lot of information that was formerly not available to many collectors.

But he has not confined his efforts to a simple translation of text.

Physically this book is coffee table size (A4 format) and it is printed on good quality art paper. It contains more than 330 large, clear photographs of keris taken from Jean's personal collection. These photographs are arranged in sections, or perhaps chapters, that cover the types of keris originating from several regions of Java, and from Madura, Bali, Lombok, Sulawesi, Sumbawa, and Sumatera.

This presentation of classificatory information in the form of actual keris of a style and quality that is achievable by any serious collector is invaluable, and to my knowledge has never before been attempted.

Each section dealing with a region has a short introductory text that provides an over-view of both the region and the kerises originating from that region.

Jean has included a bibliography, a glossary of keris terms, an index of keris features, and to top it off, a photographic reference of Javanese pamor patterns, again, he has used actual keris to demonstrate these pamor patterns.

This book would be a valuable addition to the library of all collectors, but for a beginning collector, I consider that it is essential. In fact, for the pure collector there is perhaps no better book currently available.

13th July 2017, 10:26 PM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,892	By a collector, for collectors Our valued friend and regular contributor to this Forum, Jean Greffioz has written another book about the keris. I have just completed a reading of this new book and I must say that I am very impressed. This could well be the book that many collectors have been waiting for:- it is a book that has been written by a collector, for collectors. In my experience, most keris collectors have the same two primary questions whenever they see or handle a keris:- where is it from? how old is it? As a collector's knowledge increases and along with that knowledge, his curiosity also increases, he begins to focus on the individual parts that comprise the complete keris:- what type of scabbard is this? what is this pamor called? what is the name of this type of hilt? In recent years a number of books written by Indonesian authors, and published in Bahasa Indonesia, the national language of Indonesia, have been published that do address these questions, but for collectors in the western world that information is very often somewhere between extremely difficult and impossible to access. Jean is able to read and understand Bahasa Indonesia, and he has used these books published in Bahasa Indonesia as his principal source of information for his new book, thus he has opened the door to a lot of information that was formerly not available to many collectors. But he has not confined his efforts to a simple translation of text. Physically this book is coffee table size (A4 format) and it is printed on good quality art paper. It contains more than 330 large, clear photographs of keris taken from Jean's personal collection. These photographs are arranged in sections, or perhaps chapters, that cover the types of keris originating from several regions of Java, and from Madura, Bali, Lombok, Sulawesi, Sumbawa, and Sumatera. This presentation of classificatory information in the form of actual keris of a style and quality that is achievable by any serious collector is invaluable, and to my knowledge has never before been attempted. Each section dealing with a region has a short introductory text that provides an over-view of both the region and the kerises originating from that region. Jean has included a bibliography, a glossary of keris terms, an index of keris features, and to top it off, a photographic reference of Javanese pamor patterns, again, he has used actual keris to demonstrate these pamor patterns. This book would be a valuable addition to the library of all collectors, but for a beginning collector, I consider that it is essential. In fact, for the pure collector there is perhaps no better book currently available.