A keris for comment
 

I have recently bought this piece, an average piece. This is what I was told about this keris. :)

A keris of Southern Sumatran, Bugis Riau provenance. Handle is the typical Bugis kerdas style, made of ivory, and fitted with a repoussed silver pendoko.

Top sheath (or sampir in Malay) is made of kemuning woods. Bottom stem (or batang in Malay), is wood and fully encased with finely repoussed silver. Different motifs at the front and back.

Blade has 11 luks, well executed and deep perabots which includes the kembang kacang nguku bima. Pamor patterns are arranged in the mlumah technique and are called pamor Banyu Tretes, (or dripping water).
It is said to enhance the owner's material well being as well as a protective pamor.
I was told, the blade should go back to late 18th century with a late 19th century fittings.

The blade had recently gone through traditional cleaning ritual. It was blackish before cleaning. Now it's more whitish.
Let me know your opinions on this piece.;)

Closer picture
 

Closer shots...;)

This keris is not Riau and is not Bugis - Straits or otherwise. Its East Sumatran and probably belonged to a Malay. the blade is Javanese and appears to be of the kodi variety - a trade blade but decent pamor. Banyu netes - I don't know though - I would have said kulit semangka. The silver is new - no more than a few years. I've seen a lot of this coming on the market lately.

Thanks Dave,
Your comments are noted. Would you elaborate more regarding "the kodi variety". :confused:

Something off the discussion of this keris -- what makes a keris kodi a keris kodi? Is it quality/form of the blade, the original intent for the blade at the time of manufacture, or does it just apply to keris blades that have been sold to another island, regardless of quality or intent?

We see Javanese blades in Bugis or Malay dress all the time. I recently acquired an E Sumatran keris (or so I thought) with a blade that was clearly E Javanese. What was more amazing was that after a few days, I saw another keris (belonging to another collector) in Sulawesi dress, with the same E Javanese form of blade. These blades are generally well-made, with full perabots and really nice ron dha, greneng, kembang kacang, sogokan and luks. Would these be considered 'trade blades'?

If a blade like this one (currently in Solo dress) were to get sold to another island, would it be considered a 'trade blade'? The way I see it this blade may be slightly nicer than Alam Shah's blade, but essentially of the same level.

The E Sumatran keris in question.

Kodi, as most of us know by now know, comes from the Javanese kodiat. It refers to a bundle of "20", in this case, kerises. These were trade blades made in Java for sale and sold in quantity. As with most things I should think they would have been of varying "quality" based on where and when they wer produced, as well as who produced them. Most would have been fairly average, a few probably less so and some may have been very nice indeed. Of course this can only be presumed as we know very little about the keris trade at this point.

Trade blades should not however be confused with high quality, high status pieces which were gifts from the courts of Java for earstwhile vassals. This is especially true of South Sumatra, which was ruled by Javanese appointed regents until about the time the Dutch took over. So, if you do come across a court quality keris its as likely as not its in this category.

As for your E. Sumatran keris Blu, I'd say actually that the dress is Sulawesi Bugis. And a very nice keris at that. Whether the blade is Javanese or not it another question. I have seen several Bugis keris with Javanese looking keris. Its likely as not these were trade blades, but they may also have been locally produced.

This keris was said to be a Bugis keris. I agree with that. What do u guys think? Is it a Sulawesi piece? The sampir looks new and in Minang (?) style. Some books refer this kind of sampir as Sulawesi keris. Is it true?

Another thing, is this a Sulawesi keris? As stated in Blu's posting in the other thread, Strait bugis uses lower pendongkok. This one uses that kind of pendongkok, but i think its Sulawesi due to the akwardness of the dress. It kinda wider than average. However the blade is thinner than an average bugis keris. What do u think of the quality of the blade? I think its average. Can u guys please comment? Can somebody post some pictures of Sulawesi Bugis keris and Sumatran/Bugis keris to ease the explaination? Would appreciate that very much. :)

Rasdan -- I think the sampir on this keris is more Minang than Sulawesi. I suspect this keris is a composite keris with handle, blade and sheath from different sources. For Minang kerises, I've never seen blades such as this. The pendoko form is rather unfamiliar, but I think it could actually be straits Bugis form.

Straits Bugis kerises attached

What about the lack of buntut on the batang? This batang has the bulge near the top, but has the typical 'rounded' bottom of Sumatran sheaths.

I hear that keris forms on E Sumatra are heavily influenced by Sulawesi forms, and so we see kerises which smacks of Sulawesi, but are actually produced locally in Sumatra.

These are the pictures of my second posting. Forgot to attach in the message. :) Looks Sulawesi to me. But, what about the blade? Its thin and looks like straits bugis ones.

Could easily have lost the buntut and been re-worked or perhaps the entire batang is a replacement. Actually with the exception of Palembang you rarely see the batang terminate in a - for lack of a better term - iras buntut. While frequently rounded, they are usually tekak belalai or patat lipas style, made from a separate piece, typically of different material.

The entire Straits & Peninsular region is heavily influenced by Bugis forms and they are, occasionally difficult to tell apart. But I don't think so in this case. The sampir form and especially the "swollen" throat and tapering batang are classic Sulawesi.

Rasdan - you've posted pictures of a magnificent S. Sumatran Bugis keris. The lacquer is Palembang and a dead giveaway, as is the sheath form which, as has been frequently noted before, is popularly referred to as a "chieftain" or "penghulu" style. The blade is more or less typical for S. Sumatra and not necessarily a bad blade. It's clearly shows some heavy wear through age or neglect.

BluErf has already posted some fine examples of Straits Bugis keris. Here are some confirmed Sulawesi keris to compare.

That's a classical Riau Bugis keris, just like mine on the brown background.

Next, a selection of East Sumatran Bugis for comparison. Note again - East Sumatra is highly varied. Some seem more Minang, some more Bugis, and some Malay.

Another Sulawesi keris with a N Malay (?) blade. We see all sorts of keris forms in Sulawesi dress...

Also, while we're at it, here are a few Riau keris as well.

Confused yet? Me too - but that's what's fun about these things. And I'm only including archetypal pieces here - If I sprang some of the wierder stuff on you you'd be even more confused. ;)

Thanks all. I having "indigestion" right now. :confused: Will get back soon, i hope.
Dave, if you don't mind. Bring it on. May be confusing, but what the heck, it will be a good learning experience.;)

Comment on your blade...
 

Blu - I agree that your blade is nicer, looks more refined, while mine is cruder.

Great thread and great examples of Bugis/Sulawesi/Pelambang Keris. I wanted to add two examples to the thread as interesting(potentially) variants. Example 1

Here is the 2nd example, much simpler dress, but an intereting blade.

Thanks all for nthe wonderful examples -- and the utter confusio you've all generated! ;)

It would be most useful for a beginner like me if you can 'decompose' this discussion and generate what you see as defining charactersitics of the different types of keris -- blades, sampir, batang and all.

Otherwise, I'm looking (and drooling) at all these examples and not knowing what to look out for. BTW, what's this 'throat/ you're talking about earlier on?

Would really appreciate this...

Whoa, i'm a bit dizzy right now. It seems that there are no general rule of determining origin of Sumatran kerisses. Some bugis looks Malay, Minang etc. Heres some basic conclusion (on the dress) i can made:

1. The penghulu sampir originated in South Sumatra and the laquer is Palembang work

2. Sulawesi kerisses has a bit smaller sampir compared to penghulu ones and the batang is tapering with a flaring buntut.

3. East Sumatran kerisses are closer to their Sulawesi cousins, but have some other influence such as Minang etc. However flaring buntut is not a must.

4. Pendongkoks be it Long "necked" or the shorter "dulang" type can be either Sumatran or Sulawesi.

5. Riau kerises are generally of composite influences, many dont have flaring buntut.

If there is anything incorrect regarding the conclusions, can somebody correct me? Can i say that Sulawesi keris MUST have tapering batang?

Phew... and this is only regarding the dress, the blade is another thick chapter. hee..hee..

RSword, love your example, especially the one with the gold oversheath. The blade looks very close to Dave's giant bugis keris which is presumed originated in Sumbawa.

Sampir...
 

Since we are still dicussing sampirs, can anyone tell me where does this sheath originated from? :confused:

This also confuse me. It is stated as a bugis keris. Does Bugis kerisses have this kind of hilt?

Rasdan - The sampir looks Buginese, the hilt looks more Straits type sea sword handle. (Ref. Frey's The Kris -Kris Archives, pg.58).

There are some general 'guidelines', but as people move around in the archipelago, ideas and aesthetics are exchanged and lines get blurred.

I remember asking Dave and Paul a few years back how do they tell the kerises apart and I would never get a straight answer because there were (are) none. After seeing more examples and always asking -- where did this keris supposedly come from. And mulling over the information, judging for ourselves whether the information is reasonable or not, we begin to form a basic construct of what makes a Sulawesi sampir Sulawesi, and what makes a Riau sampir Riau etc. Not a neat thing... and frustrating always. And nobody's totally sure, especially with people (me included) swapping handles and pendokos around. Sometimes, even sheaths get swapped.

There you have it -- the whole conundrum.


As to RSword's kerises, I think the first one is Straits, judging from the blade, which looks S. Sumatran, and judging from the pendok motifs -- the distinctive swirling vegetation motif. The pendoko looks S. Sumatran. Could it be Sumbawa -- Maybe.

On the second one, I think its Sulawesi. The sheath has dauns (or 'leaves', at the 2 top ends of the sheath) that do not curve inwards. Sulawesi sampir has this tendency to have dauns that curve outwards. Also, I'm not sure if I spy a 'bulge' at the throat of the sampir.

Since I am also confused, let me add to the general confusion: :eek:

Alam Shah - your hilt and mendak are Jogja. So is the pendok. The wranka I don't know :D

Pak Rasdan - methinks your hulu is Kaki Kuda typical of Sumatran pieces.

But I'm only a beginner... ;)

That hilt form on the gold keris shown by Rasdan -- I've seen it a similar type on Nias 'keris'. Nias 'keris' is not really a keris. The sheath has a elongated sampir, which I believe is supposed to represent oxen ears, while the blade can be a sewar or golok type of blade, mounted on a hilt like this.

But this gold keris is dressed new. Traditional aesthetics and rules may not apply. The "horse hoof" hilt is typically found on keris panjang, anak alang, and on Minang kerises -- those small luk blades.

Resources - reference
 

Links to reference site, hopefully can help to understand the Bugis history and culture, a little. :)
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/taman.sari/utilities/bugis.htm

Sumatra Keris
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/taman.sari/k...matrakeris.htm

The Kris (by Edward Frey), Kris Archive section.
page 66 - Sumatra-Bugis kerises
page 67 - Sulawesi-Bugis kerises

How new do u presume Blu? I heard that the wire works like that would at least be 100 years old.

RSword's keris
 

Hi RSword,

I must say I'm still drooling over the first Bugis keris you posted. Just out of curiosity, is the batang covered in gold, gilded silver or brass. How old is the keris and who happens to be the lucky owner. Truly a blade to die for! :D

I reckon the gold work to be 20th century work, which if we really stretch it back, would be about 100years, but maybe the middle ground of 50years is more likely. :)

The reason why I think the gold work is new is because we don't see similarly elaborately gold-worked Malay/Bugis examples on older pieces in books. There are gold pendok and pendokos, but not with all these gold filigree, and so much of it. I always have the idea that pre-20th century kerises wear gold a lot more sparingly than post-20th century equivalents. Also, the older gold kerises use lower-purity gold (9-14k) whereas the examples we see in the pics here are unabashedly high carat shiny yellow gold.

Still with the tapak kuda hilt -- I would imagine that, given the same geographical and cultural milieu (S and E Sumatra), the tapak kuda would have been a logical accessory than another design on the other side of the mountains, as it were.

Pak Rasdan can solve this mystery -- can you show a shot of the top of the hilt? Or maybe you can tell us if it's a tapak kuda.

Whose golden keris is that anyway? Sultan of Selangor? Or, as my imagination runs wild, is that the elusive golden keris salvaged from the Flora del Mel? :eek:

Alamak! Rahman, tapak kuda lah...mana ada kaki kuda punya hulu sih? ;)

I'd say that piece has the most recent goldwork though. It lacks the finess of some ofthe earlier work. I'm going to have to disagree with Blu on the goldwork of Rsword's piece though. I'm thinking more mid-19th c. By 1900 most of the Sultan's were under Colonial domination, there was a precipitous decline in the quality of - especially - high end keris and the Raja Raja went off and became good little Westernized puppets, spending thier money on motorcars, waterford crystal and Gordon's gin.

There's a similar example in Jensen - attributed to an Acehnese prince but clearly Straits in origin - I can't remember if its dated and I don't have a copy of the book so maybe someone can look it up - if I'm not wrong it was mid-19th. RSword's other piece also strikes me as S. Sumatran Bugis in origin. The blade especially. The dress is about as generically "Bugis" as you could get. Someday I'm going to get off my butt and take a trip down through Siak, Indragiri and Palembang. Have a sniff around and see what turns up. But for the time being I'd say this style is safely S. Sumatran.

Actually telling these things apart isn't really all that hard most of the time - there are some wierd ones that turn up but for the most part its pretty straightforward. Hard and fast rules though, will usually get you in trouble. I'm not going to go through a lot of trouble to write out all of the defining characteristics either - that's a hell of a lot of work and I was kinda' saving it for a book :D but really the best way is the tried and true rule, the more you handle, the more you know.

You should all keep in mind that in the mid-1700's there were over 40,000 "Bugis" living in Riau. By the 1860's their descendants had become "Melayu keturunan Bugis", that is "Malay's of Bugis descent." In other words for all intents and purposes - at least for 19th c and later pieces, which is most of them - all of these keris are "Malay" keris anyway.

Dave, the goldwork I was referring to was on the piece posted by Rasdan, not Rsword. Rsword's keris gold pendok is older, I agree.

Sorry Dave... was mulling over the casino issue when I wrote about Kaki Kuda :D

Let me know if you want to trek down Sumatra... I'd like to tag along and learn from the Mahaguru first hand.

It is a lovely keris and I am the lucky owner of it. The scabbard sleeve is solid gold(been tested for authenticity) but I am uncertain of the age of it. It does have an oral provenance that places it circa 1810-20 but unfortunately I do not have more solid provenance to know for sure. The blade goes well with the dress and it is beautiful as well.

Here is a link to a prior thread that shows a few close up shots of the first Bugis keris I posted.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=272

comments about Rasdan's keris...msg #8
 

The sampir looks more Minangkabau Sumatra (Frey's The Kris, 3rd Ed, pg.65-67).
The blade however, looks more Javanese, (Dapur Sengkelat ?).
Hilt cup, looks like a variation of the Bugis cup.
Just my opinion, I may be wrong. ;)