bugis keris

[David]

Originally Posted by Gee1971

Well, I was attracted by the back with the inscriptions and I like the bugis scabbard style

The scabbard style looks Sumatran to me, but i am not sure i would refer to this as a Bugis style and the blade doesn't look Bugis to me either.

[Jean]

Hello Gaetan,
I saw this kris on a French Internet site and contacted the seller. I think that he did not mean that the sheath is made from or contains any platinum but that it is plated; he quoted vermeil (gold-plated silver) if I remember well, although there is no trace of gold as well.
The blade looks a rough Bugis one to me, see the kembang kacang carved out from the gandik especially.
From memory the seller said that the piece was originally purchased in the seventies and I am somewhat optimistic that the sheath is made from silver alloy, you will check upon receipt how it reacts to a silver cleaning cloth, if it remains dull then it is not silver.....
Regards

[A. G. Maisey]

Silver is very easy to test.

You simply buy a little bottle of silver test fluid from a jewelers supply house, it will cost a few dollars.

You scratch the surface of the metal clean in a spot where it won't be noticed and apply a drop of the fluid. If the metal turns red, you have silver. If the drop stays brown or yellow you have something else.

Beats agonising over whether something is silver or not.

Incidentally, silver has become horribly expensive during the past couple of years. It really pays to know whether something truly is silver, particularly something as big as this keris dress.

[Jean]

Hello Alan,
Thanks for the tip.
Indeed the raw silver prices increased 7 fold (from about 5$ to 35$/oz) in 10 years!
Regards

[David]

Originally Posted by Jean

The blade looks a rough Bugis one to me, see the kembang kacang carved out from the gandik especially.

I noted this more as a Bugis influence than to see this as a true Bugis blade. This looks to have been made by a very unskilled smith who may have seen Bugis blades or was trying to make something like it from memory.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by David

I noted this more as a Bugis influence than to see this as a true Bugis blade. This looks to have been made by a very unskilled smith who may have seen Bugis blades or was trying to make something like it from memory.

Yes, Bugis or not this blade is not a masterpiece, I propose to wait the better pictures from Gaetan for making a more accurate assessment.
Regards

[Jean]

By the way please compare this kris with the one shown by Marcokeris in the thread "Sulawesi (Toraja)? keris" dated 4th December 2010, I think that they bear some similarities.
Regards

[Gee1971]

@ JEAN, effectivement, je me suis trompé:

"fourreau en bois recouvert d'argent doré selon les spécialistes, très belle qualité
lame damasquinée en moins bon état que le fourreau"

I was mistaken, the seller was talking about golden plated silver...

[David]

Originally Posted by Gee1971

I was mistaken, the seller was talking about golden plated silver...

I'd say you still need to get this tested. I don't see any gold plating in your photos and it's difficult to tell if this is real silver or merely some white metal. If it tests for silver and/or gold at least that would account for a bit of the high price you paid.