Where is this sheat from?

[BluErf]

Whoa, the sheath almost looks like some sort of axe. Sharp! This looks contemporary and could come from anywhere, though the intention seems to be Straits-style keris.

[Alam Shah]

Originally Posted by BluErf

Whoa, the sheath almost looks like some sort of axe. Sharp! This looks contemporary and could come from anywhere, though the intention seems to be Straits-style keris.

This piece, belongs to a friend up north.. I was told that the crosspiece is made from ivory and the piece is from Nias.. I doubt that it's from Nias.. there's a remote mixture of tajong and minang on the upper crosspiece curl.. I'm thinking that the ivory might be stained to look older..
I do have my doubts on the authenticity of this piece..

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Alam Shah

This piece, belongs to a friend up north.. I was told that the crosspiece is made from ivory and the piece is from Nias.. I doubt that it's from Nias.. there's a remote mixture of tajong and minang on the upper crosspiece curl.. I'm thinking that the ivory might be stained to look older..
I do have my doubts on the authenticity of this piece..

Yes, the sheath remind me to the small Minang keris but special the buntut and the blade let have me also some doubts if this is an authentc piece. But when it's old it is an outstanding piece.

[David]

Yes, it is that minang flavor that had me thinking Sumatra.
Now when it comes to "authentic" i think we need to define our terms. I would like to think that in some respects the keris arts are still active and evolving. If this sheath were to be presented as an old and classic form we might be right to question it's "authenticity". However, if it is recognized as a new sheath form i would have to say that it seems a beautiful and well executed expression of contemporary keris arts and in that it would be quite "authentic".
The blade, of course, is another matter...

[Alam Shah]

Originally Posted by David

Yes, it is that minang flavor that had me thinking Sumatra.
Now when it comes to "authentic" i think we need to define our terms. I would like to think that in some respects the keris arts are still active and evolving. If this sheath were to be presented as an old and classic form we might be right to question it's "authenticity". However, if it is recognized as a new sheath form i would have to say that it seems a beautiful and well executed expression of contemporary keris arts and in that it would be quite "authentic".

Allow me to define it further.. it was presented as an old authentic piece from Nias.. with supposedly age cracked ivory with patina.. Afaik, Nias does not have a keris culture, although to some extent, imported keris blades were used within certain Nias communities.

If the sheath is presented as a new contemporary or a re-worked item, I'm ok with that too.. but if modified and indicated as old, now that's a different story..

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Alam Shah

Allow me to define it further.. it was presented as an old authentic piece from Nias.. with supposedly age cracked ivory with patina.. Afaik, Nias does not have a keris culture, although to some extent, imported keris blades were used within certain Nias communities.

Does the ivory have age crack's? Wrong description (here Nias) is very common.

[Alam Shah]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Does the ivory have age crack's? Wrong description (here Nias) is very common.

I've not seen the piece in hand.. based on the single picture presented.. if you look at the shaft, there seems to be a long crack along the line to one side.. that's what I mean..

[David]

Originally Posted by Alam Shah

Allow me to define it further.. it was presented as an old authentic piece from Nias.. with supposedly age cracked ivory with patina.. Afaik, Nias does not have a keris culture, although to some extent, imported keris blades were used within certain Nias communities.

If the sheath is presented as a new contemporary or a re-worked item, I'm ok with that too.. but if modified and indicated as old, now that's a different story..

Thanks for the clarification Shahrial. If presented as such i too would question "authenticity". We have been around the block a little bit on the search for a true Nias keris. I see a little bit of Nias influence in the sheath's profile, but also have a hard time excepting this as an authentic Nias keris. I can't see the blade very well in the pics, but would be more likely to place it's origins in contemporary Madura.