A North Coast Javanese Keris with a Raksasa comment

[David]

I find myself mostly in agreement with Kai.
The Kendit does not look particularly suspicious to me in the photo, but a close examination should tell you if it is real or dyed. Often the fungus isn't just on the surface of the wood. It should have some depth. So if you examine the inside of the sheath with a flashlight you should be able to see if the stripe goes through the wood.
I agree that the selut looks odd on this hilt. I would also remove it. Hopefully fitting it has not done any damage to the base of this hilt. It is a nice carving, but it does not appear particularly old to me. Carefully applied heat can often help is removing old glue so hopefully you will be able to get the selut off from the base of this hilt successfully.

[Sajen]

Agree with everything what's said already. All parts don't belong together but I think that the seller (who is a member of this forum also) don't put it together like this, it will be a mismatch from a former owner/dealer.

Regards,
Detlef

[Rafngard]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Agree with everything what's said already. All parts don't belong together but I think that the seller (who is a member of this forum also) don't put it together like this, it will be a mismatch from a former owner/dealer.

The seller did seem both very knowledge about and honest in their listing. I guess I'm not surprised that their a member!

Thanks for your comments Detlef!

Thanks,
Leif

[Jean]

The hilt is finely carved but a recent piece from Madura IMO, it lacks the charm of old pieces (stiff design). I would also try to remove the selut which is not suitable.
Regards

[Rafngard]

Originally Posted by David

The Kendit does not look particularly suspicious to me in the photo, but a close examination should tell you if it is real or dyed. Often the fungus isn't just on the surface of the wood. It should have some depth. So if you examine the inside of the sheath with a flashlight you should be able to see if the stripe goes through the wood.

With this morning's sunlight, I think could see the Kendit on one side of the inside at least. This is probably an encouraging sign.I will examine further in the near future.

Originally Posted by David

I agree that the selut looks odd on this hilt. I would also remove it. Hopefully fitting it has not done any damage to the base of this hilt. It is a nice carving, but it does not appear particularly old to me. Carefully applied heat can often help is removing old glue so hopefully you will be able to get the selut off from the base of this hilt successfully.

I'm a little hesitant to make the attempt, as I'm worried about damaging both the selut and the hilt. I'll try to poke at this this weekend.

Thanks for all your comments David!

Thanks,
Leif