Bugis Palembang - 7 Luks

[BigG]

I got this piece a while back. Whn it 1st came it had a missing base and the cross piece of the sheath had been broken off previously and was not well restored, giving it an lopsided appearance and made for a bad fit for the blade.

I send it off for restoration to a craftsman in the northern M'sian state of T'ganu. The craftsman was told to try an improve the appearance of the sheath so as to truly show off the excellent chatoyance and grains of the rare antique Kemuning wood. However, he was to keep all the knicks and scratches found alone. The result is as seen here. This piece is rare in that the entire sheath and hilt are made of kemuning wood (muraya paniculatta). I am unsure whether the Type of Kemuning wood used is of the variety known in the Peninsula as Kemuning Mas (Golden Kemuning) or of the Kemuning Raja (Royal Kemuning) variety. The base was also fixed wth Kemuning of a more recent vintage.

I have not treated the blade wth any warangan. But the pamor layers are clearly seen as is typical of the Bugis Palembang variety wth well arranged layers.. I like Bugis kerises & the Palembang variety is a very refine evolution of the root Bugis Form.

Comments would be appreciated.

[BluErf]

Hi Suhaimi,

Very nice Bugis keris! I thought this is a Riau keris, not Palembang?

[kai]

Thanks a lot for sharing, Suhaimi! Nice restoration - wished I had those skilled artisans in my neck of the woods...

BTW, after scratching my head while scrolling through the pics, I'm relieved that Kai Wee already suggested a Riau origin.

Regards,
Kai

[BigG]

Originally Posted by BluErf

Hi Suhaimi,

Very nice Bugis keris! I thought this is a Riau keris, not Palembang?

I bow down to your better experience on this...

[BigG]

Originally Posted by kai

BTW, after scratching my head while scrolling through the pics, I'm relieved that Kai Wee already suggested a Riau origin.

The thing is Kai, though the dress looks Riau, I am not too convinced wher the blade is concern. Can Riau Bugis blade be made like this? In fact I have been told previously that this was a sumatran piece, if not exactly a Palembang piece.

I am OK with any opinion on the matter. It does not detract fme from the fact that I have a wonderful eg of a Malay Bugis variation & of a good vintage here. Please feel free to offer your views.. even a contrarian one.

BTW the hilt is fixed unto the blade & as it fits my grip well, I had decided to let it be instead of chancing any damage to that gorgeous hilt should I try to remove it.

[BigG]

Originally Posted by kai

Thanks a lot for sharing, Suhaimi! Nice restoration - wished I had those skilled artisans in my neck of the woods...

Good dependable restoration is a bug bear for anyone of us, even in and around here. Craftsmen who are willing to and can effect gd quality of restoration work is hard to come by.

Honestly, I was surprised that I had as good a piece as this when it arrived. My next worry was whether the craftsman that I was in contact with at the time would be able to do it justice. The thing about kemuning wood is that leaving it alone, to retain that old weathered look would simply not do it any justice. Antique kemuning piece, were hard to come by even then and it is almost impossible now. Not with the kind of fine grains that you can see here. Each single grain in the photo is actually a combination of finer ones when looked at closed up. Kemuning too has wonderful chatoyance. Only an experience craftsmen or a very patient and willing collector can do justice to it to really bring that shine out, while still leaving all the knicks & scratches in place.

The 3 mths that it was out of my sight in Trengganu was a really long wait for me. But thank God it came out as well as it did.

[A. G. Maisey]

I would most humbly suggest that one is best advised to do one's own restoration.

I did my own work for more than 20 years before I ever had access to craftsmen in Jawa. Yes, it requires patience, and it requires the willingness to learn the techniques, but restoration that is done by any craftsman that I have encountered in Jawa or Bali can be done by a willing and interested person in New York, Amsterdam, or Sydney.

The essential element is interest.

Incidentally, for things that require more than the average fiddling around, I still do my own work, for the simple reason that I do not trust the people I know to do exactly as I request with items that I want treated in a way other than the norm.

[BigG]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I would most humbly suggest that one is best advised to do one's own restoration.

I did a bit of this once... a wee little bit... & I know someone who does it too amongst the grp of serious enthusiast that I know... but for the most of us here... it takes far too much investment of time and in our shal we say cosy public housing homes... there is also a critical question of space.

The idea amongst us here is that since we have an access to traditional craftsman either directly or otherwise in the peninsula who can do this better then us... & since supporting them would mean that we would be supporting the upkeep of the traditional crafts industry there, including critically for us the Keris making and other supportive industry in the peninsula whch is not as developd as it is in Indonesia, then y not.

Adding to that... amongst some collectors, the notion of observing certain customary taboos which some of this craftsman still do is also important... so the focus is some what different. Theres nothing like doing it yourself... I agree Mr Maisey... but then when the inclination & opportunity is just isnt ther then craftsmen is the alernative asnwer...

[BluErf]

Originally Posted by BigG

The thing is Kai, though the dress looks Riau, I am not too convinced wher the blade is concern. Can Riau Bugis blade be made like this? In fact I have been told previously that this was a sumatran piece, if not exactly a Palembang piece.

Hi Suhaimi,

The blade on this one looks quite similar to the one in the golden dress that is owned by Sultan Abdul Rahman. And that golden keris is the archetypal Riau keris.

[BluErf]

Ok, found the pic.

[PenangsangII]

BigG,

I can feel it... your keris might as well be a Trengganu piece, though Riau provenance cannot be ruled out also....

[BigG]

My own thinking on this is that, the keris is meant to be a Riau variation of the Bugis design. The overall impact if you will, is that of a Bugis Riau piece. BUT... looking at the qlty of metal used... the formation of the pamor used... this piece reeks of the bouquet of a Palembang made blade.

And Palembang, the Riau Islands and the southern Johor state in the peninsula are all cheek by jowl wth each other in that region... so cross cultural influence, trade etc would have made it very possible that there is a strong influence of Palembang in the manufacture of this blade.

But again, I am OK with looking at this as either, as it still cannot detract me from the fact that this is a very nice piece...

[Battara]

NICE! Would love to see the whole scabbard too......

[Alam Shah]

Originally Posted by Battara

NICE! Would love to see the whole scabbard too......

You can see it (( here )) ..
Taken when the piece was on display at the Malay Heritage Centre some year ago. Now, it is again in Singapore, as part of the "Sumatra: Isle of Gold" exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum.

[khalifah muda]

Originally Posted by BluErf

Ok, found the pic.

Similar Riau example:

[BluErf]

Originally Posted by khalifah muda

Similar Riau example:

I'm not completely sure, but your keris looks Peninsula to me. The hilt looks Terengganu, and the blade could be too. The sheath also looks more Northern Malay than Southern Malay/Straits Bugis.

[BluErf]

Originally Posted by Alam Shah

You can see it (( here )) ..
Taken when the piece was on display at the Malay Heritage Centre some year ago. Now, it is again in Singapore, as part of the "Sumatra: Isle of Gold" exhibition at the Asian Civilisations Museum.

But the lighting is so dim at the Gold exhibition! Was so glad we took many pictures while it was at the MHC

[khalifah muda]

Originally Posted by BluErf

I'm not completely sure, but your keris looks Peninsula to me. The hilt looks Terengganu, and the blade could be too. The sheath also looks more Northern Malay than Southern Malay/Straits Bugis.

It's about the blade - a Bugis Riau.

[David]

Originally Posted by khalifah muda

It's about the blade - a Bugis Riau.

Is it? I have always been just a little confused on this front, but it is my understanding that when we assess a dressed keris as a whole ensemble (as opposed to simply assess just the blade) it is usually assigned it's origin according to it's dress. I'm i incorrect on this?

[khalifah muda]

Originally Posted by David

Is it? I have always been just a little confused on this front, but it is my understanding that when we assess a dressed keris as a whole ensemble (as opposed to simply assess just the blade) it is usually assigned it's origin according to it's dress. I'm i incorrect on this?

Yes, this is subjective. Similarly, you find a Javanese blade dressed in Palembang/Sumatran dressing. For my case, the blade was originally a bugis riau linggan, but was dressed with a typical northern malay dressing by the previous owner.