An Unfortunate Fate of a Good (?) Keris

DAHenkel · 26th January 2005, 01:30 PM

Shame about the condition but it has a nice story and as it would not do much good to restore or re-dress it, its so far gone, I would recommend that you leave it be. Restoring or re-dressing it will not make it look nice anyway.

The piece is not Bugis per-se though. It is a native keris in a style typical of Johor-Riau and the Selat Melaka. The Bugis patrimony is there certainly, given the influence of the Bugis in this area - but it is definitely not from Sulawesi. No way to tell precisely where it came from but certainly from around these parts. The pamor is one of the rarer types and worth keeping as an example if nothing else.

Henk · 26th January 2005, 10:10 PM

I personally would take the effort to clean the blade and bring back the pamor again and re-dress this keris. It is a gift from a relative and in my opinion a very old blade. And it is not unusual to give an old blade a new dress because the old one is gone. I think this fellow deserves a new dress and it will be a handsome fellow if it is done properly.

nechesh · 26th January 2005, 10:46 PM

I agree with Henk here. It's not a matter ofwhether or not redressing makes the blade look better. I my mind it is about respect for the blade and your ancestors. IOf this blade is pusaka it should be treated as such.

rasdan · 27th January 2005, 09:28 AM

Hi guys,

Thank you very much for the views. I got no problem showing this pusaka here because for me, the best contribution an old keris can give nowdays is its contribution to knowledge; and sharing is the answer.

Of course theres still some restrictions, but surely a picture here wont hurt a thing.

I guess i just give this old chap a propper dress so that he (?) will feel appreciated. I'm sure it has been a long time since he last had a propper dress.

Btw prime, i'm in KL and sadly i cannot make it to singapore this year. I'll try my best cleaning it myself and... time to use my warangan

. Hope it will work.

Alam Shah · 27th January 2005, 12:30 PM

OK, take care...and happy warangan.
> I'll try my best cleaning it myself and... time to use my warangan

. Hope it will work.

BTW, May I ask, what do you use for your warangan? Let me know the result.

Henk · 27th January 2005, 07:36 PM

Rasdan,

We are very ancious to see the result. I hope you will share it with us. I'm very happy that you are going to give this pusaka the honor it deserves. A very old blade in a good dress, no matter that the dress is a new one, makes a pure and lovely keris.

Just like Nechesh said, it is to pay your respect to the keris.

26th January 2005, 01:30 PM	#1
DAHenkel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 125	Shame about the condition but it has a nice story and as it would not do much good to restore or re-dress it, its so far gone, I would recommend that you leave it be. Restoring or re-dressing it will not make it look nice anyway. The piece is not Bugis per-se though. It is a native keris in a style typical of Johor-Riau and the Selat Melaka. The Bugis patrimony is there certainly, given the influence of the Bugis in this area - but it is definitely not from Sulawesi. No way to tell precisely where it came from but certainly from around these parts. The pamor is one of the rarer types and worth keeping as an example if nothing else.

26th January 2005, 10:10 PM	#2
Henk Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,209	I personally would take the effort to clean the blade and bring back the pamor again and re-dress this keris. It is a gift from a relative and in my opinion a very old blade. And it is not unusual to give an old blade a new dress because the old one is gone. I think this fellow deserves a new dress and it will be a handsome fellow if it is done properly.

26th January 2005, 10:46 PM	#3
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	I agree with Henk here. It's not a matter ofwhether or not redressing makes the blade look better. I my mind it is about respect for the blade and your ancestors. IOf this blade is pusaka it should be treated as such.

27th January 2005, 09:28 AM	#4
rasdan Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur Posts: 369	Hi guys, Thank you very much for the views. I got no problem showing this pusaka here because for me, the best contribution an old keris can give nowdays is its contribution to knowledge; and sharing is the answer. Of course theres still some restrictions, but surely a picture here wont hurt a thing. I guess i just give this old chap a propper dress so that he (?) will feel appreciated. I'm sure it has been a long time since he last had a propper dress. Btw prime, i'm in KL and sadly i cannot make it to singapore this year. I'll try my best cleaning it myself and... time to use my warangan . Hope it will work.

27th January 2005, 12:30 PM	#5
Alam Shah Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,248	OK, take care...and happy warangan. > I'll try my best cleaning it myself and... time to use my warangan . Hope it will work. BTW, May I ask, what do you use for your warangan? Let me know the result.

27th January 2005, 07:36 PM	#6
Henk Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,209	Rasdan, We are very ancious to see the result. I hope you will share it with us. I'm very happy that you are going to give this pusaka the honor it deserves. A very old blade in a good dress, no matter that the dress is a new one, makes a pure and lovely keris. Just like Nechesh said, it is to pay your respect to the keris.