A Bugis-Makasar keris

adamb · 25th October 2024, 02:45 AM

Thank you Alan, this is very insightful.

For what it is worth, this blade does seem rather similar in form - at least to my eye - to a Bugis keris illustrated in Matthes' 1874 Ethnographic Atlas of the Bugis, which I have attached to this post.

However, my Bugis-Makasar friends did tell me that owing to a very longstanding process of cultural syncretisation it is quite difficult in some cases to distinguish between Javanese and Bugis blades on stylistic grounds alone.

In any case, I understand that generally speaking it's not possible to say too much about the antiquity of this blade from photos on a computer screen, but do you think it is, indeed, "old" (i.e., pre-WWII)?

Kind regards
Adam

25th October 2024, 02:45 AM	#3
adamb Member Join Date: Oct 2024 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 6	Thank you Alan, this is very insightful. For what it is worth, this blade does seem rather similar in form - at least to my eye - to a Bugis keris illustrated in Matthes' 1874 Ethnographic Atlas of the Bugis, which I have attached to this post. However, my Bugis-Makasar friends did tell me that owing to a very longstanding process of cultural syncretisation it is quite difficult in some cases to distinguish between Javanese and Bugis blades on stylistic grounds alone. In any case, I understand that generally speaking it's not possible to say too much about the antiquity of this blade from photos on a computer screen, but do you think it is, indeed, "old" (i.e., pre-WWII)? Kind regards Adam Attached Images