VERY small moro kris

[DaveS]

Here is a small moro kris, maybe made for a boy???. Pommel is ivory. Looks at one time broken and reshaped. There is a museum number on the scabbard. The heavily laminated blade is 10 inches long,14 inches overall. Twisted silver wire with silver bands on handle. One interesting thing is that there are supporting strips underneath the handle ready to receive the asangs, but of course none was ever attached. Seems strange that on a piece this small that someone would even have bothered to attach these strips.............Dave.

[Rick]

Blade is a replacement ?

[Robert]

Hello Dave, Wonderful piece. I really like the silver work on the hilt. Look at the throat of the scabbard and if this ever had asang-asang the scabbard should have been carved for them to be able to fit. It might have only had one instead of two so it should be easy enough to tell. My congratulations to you on a great find.

Best,
Robert

[DaveS]

Originally Posted by Robert

Hello Dave, Wonderful piece. I really like the silver work on the hilt. Look at the throat of the scabbard and if this ever had asang-asang the scabbard should have been carved for them to be able to fit. It might have only had one instead of two so it should be easy enough to tell. My congratulations to you on a great find.

Best,
Robert

Robert: The scabbard shows no sign of ever being carved to fit the asangs, and the blade shows no sign that they were ever fitted......Dave

[DaveS]

Originally Posted by Rick

Blade is a replacement ?

Rick: Blade could be a replacement but I don't know how anyone would be able to really tell. Looks to me that they were just never put on. With a blade that small I don't think they would have been needed anyway...Dave.

[Rick]

I only asked because the fine work on the sorsoran looks kind of crude and one dimensional .

[DaveS]

Originally Posted by Rick

I only asked because the fine work on the sorsoran looks kind of crude and one dimensional .

Rick: You could be right. In my experience though, crude and one dimensional doesn't always mean that a blade is newer or older. They are what they are. I've seen so much moro stuff over the years that just don't fit the norms that NOTHING surprises me anymore. Cecil and I used to argue for hours about what was the "correct form" for a moro sword. He would say if it ain't this form, and if it ain't that form, then it isn't really moro. He was totally locked in to certain types of blade shapes and hilt and handle forms and if something deviated, then it just couldn't be from a moro............Dave.

[David]

Originally Posted by Rick

I only asked because the fine work on the sorsoran looks kind of crude and one dimensional .

Well, if this is indeed a kris made for a child they might not put all the fine effort into carving aspects of the blade like they would with an adult's blade. This also seems to be the case with patrems, Indonesian keris made for women. I have rarely, if ever, seen one that has the same level of garap applied to blades meant for men.

[Spunjer]

here's a similar class:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ight=moro+kris

[David]

Yum, that one again. I like that one alot Ron.