Putting together a museum exhibit linking Java keris to Philippine kris

Bill M · 25th June 2010, 01:22 PM

A few months ago we had a visit from a patron and a museum curator. They were particularly impressed by the Javanese keris and the Philippine kris and asked us to put together an exhibit that will open August 15.

This has opened a fun, but challenging venue for Anne and myself. It has also made us realize that we are collecting in an area that the general public does not have a clue! FI, they got the idea that the Javanese were a "tribe" in the southern Philippines!

We realized that we need more information, maps. Where are the Philippines? Where is Java? Both in a world view and also in relationship to each other? What is the link(s) that places wavy bladed knives in both cultures?

We think we know a lot about our collections until we try to explain to interested, intelligent people who are ignorant of these cultures, but want to bring something of the beauty of these pieces of armor, spears, swords, shields, etc to the attention of the General Public. Who want to educate people about these cultures.

So we are asking your help. Opinions? How would you simply explain the basics? What would you say and how would you say it? Please realize that we are asking several questions.

A name for the exhibit? Thinking of calling it something like:
"The Elegance of Malice:" (subtitled) "From the talismans of Java to the Freedom Fighters of the Southern Philippines." (Anne's title)

This is quite and exercise in consciousness and can be a lot of fun. Very educational for us! Maybe get you to thinking about your collection and how much we take for granted that the average person knows about our objects.

25th June 2010, 01:22 PM	#1
Bill M Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: USA Georgia Posts: 1,599	Putting together a museum exhibit linking Java keris to Philippine kris A few months ago we had a visit from a patron and a museum curator. They were particularly impressed by the Javanese keris and the Philippine kris and asked us to put together an exhibit that will open August 15. This has opened a fun, but challenging venue for Anne and myself. It has also made us realize that we are collecting in an area that the general public does not have a clue! FI, they got the idea that the Javanese were a "tribe" in the southern Philippines! We realized that we need more information, maps. Where are the Philippines? Where is Java? Both in a world view and also in relationship to each other? What is the link(s) that places wavy bladed knives in both cultures? We think we know a lot about our collections until we try to explain to interested, intelligent people who are ignorant of these cultures, but want to bring something of the beauty of these pieces of armor, spears, swords, shields, etc to the attention of the General Public. Who want to educate people about these cultures. So we are asking your help. Opinions? How would you simply explain the basics? What would you say and how would you say it? Please realize that we are asking several questions. A name for the exhibit? Thinking of calling it something like: "The Elegance of Malice:" (subtitled) "From the talismans of Java to the Freedom Fighters of the Southern Philippines." (Anne's title) This is quite and exercise in consciousness and can be a lot of fun. Very educational for us! Maybe get you to thinking about your collection and how much we take for granted that the average person knows about our objects.