Bali keris query follow up

A. G. Maisey · 2nd February 2025, 07:52 PM

Sid, the reason that I have not commented is that if I cannot say something positive I try not to say anything at all.

Going ahead with a stain job in the absence of the essential blade clean beforehand is really not a good thing to do, it simply makes the job longer & harder.

You did ask three direct questions:-

1) age of the keris, I take that as blade only, it is probably 19th century, possibly earlier, not later, additionally it is probably Lombok/Bali, not Island of Bali.

2) comment on merits, I can see nothing in particular that would set it apart from the average run of older Balinese keris, except of course the lack of a separate gonjo, there is some loss of detail in the carving, which is the reason I opted for the "possibly earlier" comment in 1).

3) is the pamor motif bendo sagodo or uler lulut? I would give it as bendo sagodo, but in Bali it would most likely be given as pamor santa, both bendo sagodo (bendha sagada) & uler lulut are Javanese names.

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2nd February 2025, 07:52 PM	#8
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Sid, the reason that I have not commented is that if I cannot say something positive I try not to say anything at all. Going ahead with a stain job in the absence of the essential blade clean beforehand is really not a good thing to do, it simply makes the job longer & harder. You did ask three direct questions:- 1) age of the keris, I take that as blade only, it is probably 19th century, possibly earlier, not later, additionally it is probably Lombok/Bali, not Island of Bali. 2) comment on merits, I can see nothing in particular that would set it apart from the average run of older Balinese keris, except of course the lack of a separate gonjo, there is some loss of detail in the carving, which is the reason I opted for the "possibly earlier" comment in 1). 3) is the pamor motif bendo sagodo or uler lulut? I would give it as bendo sagodo, but in Bali it would most likely be given as pamor santa, both bendo sagodo (bendha sagada) & uler lulut are Javanese names.