Solo keris for comment.

Gustav · 10th July 2016, 03:04 PM

Alan, there was almost none trade between Portuguese and Muslims from North Coast of Java. Portuguese as Catholics didn't officially trade with Muslims, unlike the Danish and Dutch. The official Portuguese trade contact was with Hindu Kingdom of Sunda.

In respect of Francis Drake, he never visited Sumatra. You probably mixed him up with Richard Swann, who was in Sumatra 60 years later and brought back to England a Keris, gift from Sultan of Indragiri.

Francis Drake visited Bali and a port in Eastern Java, not North Coast, and his contacts were explicitly with Hindu people, as were those of Thomas Cavendish.

There are three old Keris in Ashmolean Tradescant collection, yet their provenance is not clear before 1656 or perhaps 1637.

The Sheath at the back of the Bhima/Kertolo statue is almost identical to the one provenanced from 1607 in Vienna (very important - the carvings on Gambar, including Wideng Kasatriyan), and the hilt figure with Ladrangan is the hilt of this Keris.

There are quite a big number of Keris sheaths, which go back to the 17th cent., and at least three (including the one from Sendai), which perhaps could go back to the 16th cent. All of them are Gandar Iras Sunggingans. Also perhaps some more simple sheaths, like the one from Kopenhagen I mentioned, could be that old or even older.

10th July 2016, 03:04 PM	#19
Gustav Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,273	Alan, there was almost none trade between Portuguese and Muslims from North Coast of Java. Portuguese as Catholics didn't officially trade with Muslims, unlike the Danish and Dutch. The official Portuguese trade contact was with Hindu Kingdom of Sunda. In respect of Francis Drake, he never visited Sumatra. You probably mixed him up with Richard Swann, who was in Sumatra 60 years later and brought back to England a Keris, gift from Sultan of Indragiri. Francis Drake visited Bali and a port in Eastern Java, not North Coast, and his contacts were explicitly with Hindu people, as were those of Thomas Cavendish. There are three old Keris in Ashmolean Tradescant collection, yet their provenance is not clear before 1656 or perhaps 1637. The Sheath at the back of the Bhima/Kertolo statue is almost identical to the one provenanced from 1607 in Vienna (very important - the carvings on Gambar, including Wideng Kasatriyan), and the hilt figure with Ladrangan is the hilt of this Keris. There are quite a big number of Keris sheaths, which go back to the 17th cent., and at least three (including the one from Sendai), which perhaps could go back to the 16th cent. All of them are Gandar Iras Sunggingans. Also perhaps some more simple sheaths, like the one from Kopenhagen I mentioned, could be that old or even older.