A keris from Buton

[BluErf]

Ok, I think many of you would recognize where this came from...

The reason why I bought this was because this keris represents a rather unique form that could be pin-pointed to a particular locale. It is quite an exciting notion to me.

This keris show-cases the trade in keris blades and parts that has been going on all these while, and also, the exchange of ideas and styles from around the region due to trade.

Buton island is along the trade routes between the Maluku spice islands and Kalimantan (including the port city of Banjarmasin). Buton and the rest of Sulawesi was known to have traded with China and Java, exporting natural resources, and importing, among other things, vases and earthenware from China.

This keris has a hilt from Banjarmasin, a blade that sits tall in the sheath, like Malay kerises, a sampir (top sheath) that resembles the style favoured by Straits Bugis, and yet, it has the characteristic Sulawesi bulge in the throat of the sampir and the batang, and a Sulawesi sepokal blade.

http://www.kampungnet.com.sg/modules...view_album.php