My first Kerises

Spunjer · 18th November 2014, 04:04 PM

Alan, thank you so much for imparting this wisdom. it's so amazing how these weapons is so deeply intertwined with the culture, so in essence these artifacts are the "books" from the past.
as far as the kerises, thank you for the assessment! as i have mentioned to David, i'm still trying to get the "eye" on what differentiate a great blade from a good blade. the dress is not so hard to discern.
i'm always partial to silver and ivory, reason why i got attached to the two kerises. as far as the third one, i was enamored by the carving on the pendok. with all three, i have a varied example on wrangkas.

A. G. Maisey · 18th November 2014, 11:02 PM

Ron, the keris is a multi facetted cultural artifact, and what it is depends upon the period against which it is being considered, and the mind-set of the person doing the considering.

What is true for one person in one place may not be true for another person in a different place, or a different time.

Some present day Javanese people will describe the keris as a "prayer in steel". I do not know what thoughts have given rise to this idea, but if we examine the origins of the Modern Keris, during the Majapahit Period, this does seem to me to be a particularly apt description.

Probably the Javanese people who have coined this phrase did not have in mind the same things that I had in mind when I wrote "Interpretation", but the feelings involved may well be similar.

As to the differences between a great blade, and an ordinary blade, well, that is something that most people never really discover.

Technically it is probably not all that difficult to lay out the parameters for appraisal, but the idea of "great" requires that some indefinable extra comes into play, and that is the difficult part. It is perhaps a bit like the effect that a "great" painting or sculpture has upon us, something that is felt, and probably defies analysis.

18th November 2014, 04:04 PM	#1
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	Alan, thank you so much for imparting this wisdom. it's so amazing how these weapons is so deeply intertwined with the culture, so in essence these artifacts are the "books" from the past. as far as the kerises, thank you for the assessment! as i have mentioned to David, i'm still trying to get the "eye" on what differentiate a great blade from a good blade. the dress is not so hard to discern. i'm always partial to silver and ivory, reason why i got attached to the two kerises. as far as the third one, i was enamored by the carving on the pendok. with all three, i have a varied example on wrangkas.

18th November 2014, 11:02 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,090	Ron, the keris is a multi facetted cultural artifact, and what it is depends upon the period against which it is being considered, and the mind-set of the person doing the considering. What is true for one person in one place may not be true for another person in a different place, or a different time. Some present day Javanese people will describe the keris as a "prayer in steel". I do not know what thoughts have given rise to this idea, but if we examine the origins of the Modern Keris, during the Majapahit Period, this does seem to me to be a particularly apt description. Probably the Javanese people who have coined this phrase did not have in mind the same things that I had in mind when I wrote "Interpretation", but the feelings involved may well be similar. As to the differences between a great blade, and an ordinary blade, well, that is something that most people never really discover. Technically it is probably not all that difficult to lay out the parameters for appraisal, but the idea of "great" requires that some indefinable extra comes into play, and that is the difficult part. It is perhaps a bit like the effect that a "great" painting or sculpture has upon us, something that is felt, and probably defies analysis.