Keris Hilts made of Ceramic, Stone and other odd materials

[COYOTE]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I would need to see photos to give a balanced opinion, but generally speaking ceramic and glass and stone hilts that have any age are so rare as to be almost non-existent.

I have a collection of around 500 keris hilts. That is not counting the other few hundred that are on keris. I've got 3 or 4 glass hilts, all of which have been made in the last 20 years. I have no stone hilts that are old. I have no ceramic hilts at all, and have never seen an old ceramic hilt, although I have seen several ceramic hilts that had been processed to appear old.

I'd leave the "tourist" idea out of it. This idea that tourists provide a viable market for such things is ridiculous. Mostly these odd variations are offered on the local market in Indonesia, in places that tourists never penetrate.

Thank you very much for your expertise on this question. I would have thought that ceramic or stone hilts, being made with different materials from the usual and already well known ones, could be attractive for tourists...
It is very interesting to get some knowledge about your experience of these materials when used for keris hilts.