New forged keris for review

[Anthony G.]

Originally Posted by Gustav

If you don't wan't your Keris to be copyied, don't post the pictures of it on internet.

Jokes aside, copying was and is the most important part of learning process and creativity probably in every traditional culture, explicitly so in Eastern and Southeastern Asian cultures. I for myself am more annoyed and bothered about the ideal of Art schools in the Western world - everybody must be an artist with an unique language after his study at the age of let's say 25. This idea appears everywhere in Western world where creativity is concerned and not only there, and still determines some of the most fundamental differences between Eastern and Western peoples characters.

Regarding this special Keris and the original one, a part of the problem here could be that the smith was working with a couple of pictures, he never had the original in his hand. Not all people are equally talented to translate two-dimensional objects back to three -dimensional. The other thing is of course if somebody is able to understand what exactly makes out the harmony of a good blade, and not to destroy these things. Here maker's approach was too individualistic, his own character was the barrier not allowing him to make a harmonious blade. Rougly at the same time there has been made another copy of this particular Keris, by another maker, who followed the original much closer, and did have a better understanding of why exactly the old blade does work.

Hi, very well said (written) and in fact I am shocked this smith took almost less than a month to complete it and I think simple too fast. I felt that many Madura smiths are more interested in making money and they might think craving many complicated motifs which is out of the tradition will attracts foreigners. I do hope they put more effort in traditionally way.