Bali Keris on Ebay

nechesh · 30th December 2005, 05:43 PM

OK, this one got away from me on ebay and since it was a private auction i wouldn't be at all surfprised if one of my fellow forumite snagged it in the end. An unusal piece. Anyone want to talk about it?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEDW%3AIT&rd=1

Battara · 30th December 2005, 06:34 PM

Nice piece. A little surprised it went for so much. I would have expected this price on something all silver or with some gold and ivory.

nechesh · 30th December 2005, 10:09 PM

Jose, i think here you need to look past the dress to the keris itself. Remember that ultimately that is the most important part. I think you will find this is a very unusual Bali keris, espically if it is indeed 19thC or earlier and not a recently made piece. The pics weren't the best, but my feeling is that this is an older Bali keris. Swirl patterns like that kul buntet (?) are fairly rare on an old world Bali keris. All the work seems to be very well executed. I personally think this keris went rather cheaply.

simatua · 30th December 2005, 10:12 PM

Yes a very nice piece indeed.

-wasnt me bidding too on this piece, I wanted to.....but had to repair the roof of my house...glad i did cause started snowing here....at the other hand as a real collector , one month more or less in the cold, but a nice piece in my collection hmmmm.-
I saw The keris "life" myself at an collectorsmeeting held 4 x a year in the Netherlands. especially guncollectorsclub but kerises too.
webside www.vvnw.nl ( sorry no info on kerises, or other weapons, just
about the (international) meetings etc)....sorry Nechesh only in Dutch too.

Back to the bali keris.
Its not only gold and silver whats decide the price.
This a very good workmanship as well on the dapur and the pamor.
And old one too,19th centh. hard to find these days. congratulations winning bidder ! ..if he's/she reading this.

BluErf · 31st December 2005, 06:46 PM

I didn't think the blade was that nice, maybe except for the pamor. The kembang kacang looks a bit odd to me (Cuts too deep into the blade), and it disrupts the qul buntet. The pamor 'falls off' the blade at many spots too, making me wonder if the blade has a steel core. I've seen that sort of hilt (same style, same wood) on a new Balinese keris with painted sandang walikat sheath earlier this year. I think this keris is at best early-mid 20th century.

nechesh · 31st December 2005, 07:50 PM

Kai Wee, i agree with you that this is not a "perfect" blade, but i don't think that is what determines whether or not it is "nice" for me at least. What makes this blade unusal and i think valuable (and for me, nice

) is the pamor. I think this is a rather rare blade (and pamor) for what i will call "old world" Balinese keris, that is keris made prior to WWII. I agree this is probably an early 20thC keris. We have come to expect these multiple pamor blades in modern keris making, but to find a pre-WWII Balinese blade this way seems rather unusal. Also, the use of the kul buntet (alone or in combination) is quite unusal in Balinese keris making. These factors make for a somewhat rare piece IMO, regardless of the lack of perfection. Of course, the bottom line is, i really just liked this keris, and a big part of love is learning to accept the flaws in your object of desire, but my budget at the moment kept me from bidding any higher than $870.

Battara · 31st December 2005, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nechesh

Jose, i think here you need to look past the dress to the keris itself. Remember that ultimately that is the most important part. I think you will find this is a very unusual Bali keris, espically if it is indeed 19thC or earlier and not a recently made piece. The pics weren't the best, but my feeling is that this is an older Bali keris. Swirl patterns like that kul buntet (?) are fairly rare on an old world Bali keris.

You have a point Nechesh. I forget at times that I may focus too much on the precious metals (a weakness of mine

). I did notice the pamor and that I have not seen this often, though I do agree with BluErf that it goes off the blade at times.

nechesh · 31st December 2005, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Battara

You have a point Nechesh. I forget at times that I may focus too much on the precious metals (a weakness of mine

). I did notice the pamor and that I have not seen this often, though I do agree with BluErf that it goes off the blade at times.

Yep, it sure does....but then, only God is perfect, right.

Then of course, He did make us.....

30th December 2005, 05:43 PM	#1
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	Bali Keris on Ebay OK, this one got away from me on ebay and since it was a private auction i wouldn't be at all surfprised if one of my fellow forumite snagged it in the end. An unusal piece. Anyone want to talk about it? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEDW%3AIT&rd=1

30th December 2005, 06:34 PM	#2
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,219	Nice piece. A little surprised it went for so much. I would have expected this price on something all silver or with some gold and ivory.

30th December 2005, 10:09 PM	#3
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	Jose, i think here you need to look past the dress to the keris itself. Remember that ultimately that is the most important part. I think you will find this is a very unusual Bali keris, espically if it is indeed 19thC or earlier and not a recently made piece. The pics weren't the best, but my feeling is that this is an older Bali keris. Swirl patterns like that kul buntet (?) are fairly rare on an old world Bali keris. All the work seems to be very well executed. I personally think this keris went rather cheaply.

30th December 2005, 10:12 PM	#4
simatua Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 69	Yes a very nice piece indeed. -wasnt me bidding too on this piece, I wanted to.....but had to repair the roof of my house...glad i did cause started snowing here....at the other hand as a real collector , one month more or less in the cold, but a nice piece in my collection hmmmm.- I saw The keris "life" myself at an collectorsmeeting held 4 x a year in the Netherlands. especially guncollectorsclub but kerises too. webside www.vvnw.nl ( sorry no info on kerises, or other weapons, just about the (international) meetings etc)....sorry Nechesh only in Dutch too. Back to the bali keris. Its not only gold and silver whats decide the price. This a very good workmanship as well on the dapur and the pamor. And old one too,19th centh. hard to find these days. congratulations winning bidder ! ..if he's/she reading this.

31st December 2005, 06:46 PM	#5
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	I didn't think the blade was that nice, maybe except for the pamor. The kembang kacang looks a bit odd to me (Cuts too deep into the blade), and it disrupts the qul buntet. The pamor 'falls off' the blade at many spots too, making me wonder if the blade has a steel core. I've seen that sort of hilt (same style, same wood) on a new Balinese keris with painted sandang walikat sheath earlier this year. I think this keris is at best early-mid 20th century.

31st December 2005, 07:50 PM	#6
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	Kai Wee, i agree with you that this is not a "perfect" blade, but i don't think that is what determines whether or not it is "nice" for me at least. What makes this blade unusal and i think valuable (and for me, nice ) is the pamor. I think this is a rather rare blade (and pamor) for what i will call "old world" Balinese keris, that is keris made prior to WWII. I agree this is probably an early 20thC keris. We have come to expect these multiple pamor blades in modern keris making, but to find a pre-WWII Balinese blade this way seems rather unusal. Also, the use of the kul buntet (alone or in combination) is quite unusal in Balinese keris making. These factors make for a somewhat rare piece IMO, regardless of the lack of perfection. Of course, the bottom line is, i really just liked this keris, and a big part of love is learning to accept the flaws in your object of desire, but my budget at the moment kept me from bidding any higher than $870.