Period Pics Of Keris In Hand or Being Worn
 

Gentlemen,

I am putting together a short presentation for a university library group here in my town, and would like to add some period, or pre-1960 photos of people wearing or holding keris. Most of what I have seen on line via image search is not really what I am looking for.

If you have some old photos you don't mind my sharing, please share them here, or email to: kaiserchuck@prodigy.net

Thanks so much in advance!

Charles

The Tropenmuseum in the Netherlands has a remarkable collection of pre-WW II photographs of Balinese and Javanese wearing keris in the traditional manner, available through their website. Link here:

http://collectie.tropenmuseum.nl/def...254.1467571078

Search using "kris" as the search term, and click on the "photos" tab.

A couple examples.

Thanks Laowang!!

This are exactly the type of photos I am looking for.

Thanks again!

I know i can find more for you Charles, but here are a few more for now.

Hello Charles,

Have you screened the Amsterdam collection and got enough suitable pics?

Quite a few of these pics were staged, so you have to evaluate them carefully. Pics from gatherings are more likely to be real than some of those done for European/colonial customers (postcards).

Regards,
Kai

That may be true Kai as with the image of the two Bali warriors i posted, however i would think that that would not be the case with portraits of royalty in terms of the way they would wear or hold their keris. So even though the image of Gusti Ngura K'tut Djilantik is a portrait sitting i think you can feel confident that the photographer didn't position the keris in the photo for his own aesthetic purposes.

Kai, I would agree that the photos I posted can be considered "staged" in the sense that they are formal portraits in traditional dress no different from how a modern Japanese woman might sit for a formal photographic portrait in a kimono. The portrait sitters probably did not dress like that everyday, but rather for special occasions (just like my example of the modern Japanese woman). However, the dress itself and mode of wearing the keris appear culturally and historically accurate.

Here's an intriguing photograph from the Tropenmuseum's collection taken in 1910-20. Note that the subject is wearing a European-style jacket combined with his keris.

Photo attached, this time.

Upon reflection, it occurs to me that the first photo I posted (also from 1910-20) shows a similar mix of Western & traditional clothing on two of the portrait sitters.

Yes, nobility having pics taken by colonial photographers are probably more likely to dress closer to European style than possibly usual for them (jackets, shoes, etc.).

BTW, my comment was meant on colonial pics in general, not specifically directed at those attached by Lawing and David...

Regards,
Kai

as a comparison, here is the latest picture of the current and the new king of Malaysia (the king is rotated among the sultans of various states and each king reign for five years) wearing the royal regalia : notice the two kerisses . The new king is from the state of Kelantan.

An interesting tidbit - correct me if I am wrong Green - the keris blade the Agong is holding is made from 9 different royal keris taken from each of the 9 states with Sultans. They were smelted together and used to form the State Keris the Agong is holding.

I remember coming across a book by a British colonial administrator detailing the campaign to put down a rebellion in Kelantan in at the turn of the 19th-20th century. The rebellion was against the Sultan and the Sultan had British help to put it down. There was a picture of a detachment of loyal local Malay militia loyal to the Sultan with their keris in their sarong for all to see. Usually in formal or peace time photos, the keris would be covered with a flap of the sarong or absent all together. Alas, I cannot remember the author's name or the title of the book. It was the days before the handy phone-camera.

That is an interesting tidbit Paul. Do you know approximately when this keris was forged from these older keris?

Paul de Souza,

I do not know anything about the two keris shown in the agong pic so can not comment on your interesting info about how they were made.

However it is quite a common practise even now in Malaysia to get old blades (especially heavily damaged ones ) and make into a new blade.

With regards to the rebellion I think you're referring to "Tok Janggut" ?. He did not rebel against the sultan but the british colonial rule and especially the new tax imposed by the colonials at the time. He was and still a very respected figure among the kelantanese.

Hi David,

I would guess around 1956-57. Just before the independence of Malaya.


Hi Green,

Yah. Think it is Tok Janggut. Must pay a visit to the National Library soon.

Here's one from the collection of KITLV/Leiden University.

If I think about it, not that different from the one Green posted, albeit about a century (give or take) apart.