Bali keris advice and thoughts

A. G. Maisey · 15th December 2022, 09:44 PM

Balinese keris with this exaggerated curl from the gonjo were supposedly worn by priests & religious scholars in Bali. This example of Sid's is a fairly mild curl, compared with some i have seen.

The gonjo on the keris shown here is a replacement, it might be legitimate, that is, it might have been placed upon the keris when the owner of the keris rose in status.

However, during the 1980's & 1990's there was a very well known m'ranggi & dealer in keris who lived in Celuk, and he had had a number of keris made in Madura that were fitted with this style of gonjo. Some of the keris he had for sale were new creations, some were older keris that had been altered, all were keris of rare, unusual or inventive forms.

I visited this gentleman a number of times, usually just to look at what he had, I found him far too expensive to deal with, and around 1990, maybe 1988, maybe 1992 or thereabouts, he had a large number of keris like this hanging from the fascia of a pendopo in his courtyard.

Sid's posted example might be real, it might be something from Celuk of 30 years ago, I certainly cannot tell from the photos, and I might not be able to tell even if I had it in my hand.

The Old Pirate was a master of his trade.

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15th December 2022, 09:44 PM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	Balinese keris with this exaggerated curl from the gonjo were supposedly worn by priests & religious scholars in Bali. This example of Sid's is a fairly mild curl, compared with some i have seen. The gonjo on the keris shown here is a replacement, it might be legitimate, that is, it might have been placed upon the keris when the owner of the keris rose in status. However, during the 1980's & 1990's there was a very well known m'ranggi & dealer in keris who lived in Celuk, and he had had a number of keris made in Madura that were fitted with this style of gonjo. Some of the keris he had for sale were new creations, some were older keris that had been altered, all were keris of rare, unusual or inventive forms. I visited this gentleman a number of times, usually just to look at what he had, I found him far too expensive to deal with, and around 1990, maybe 1988, maybe 1992 or thereabouts, he had a large number of keris like this hanging from the fascia of a pendopo in his courtyard. Sid's posted example might be real, it might be something from Celuk of 30 years ago, I certainly cannot tell from the photos, and I might not be able to tell even if I had it in my hand. The Old Pirate was a master of his trade.