Keris with „sickleshape-blade“ for comments

David · 9th November 2019, 05:01 PM

Sorry for taking so long to follow up on responses. Thanks for posting these newer photos.
From my personal perspective i would certainly call this a keris and can see in your newer pics that it is indeed a well crafted piece that was certainly (or almost so since certainty is dangerous in the keris world

) say that the curve is original and made with intention.
I do, of course, agree with Alan on the question of dhapur names. As Alan says, dhapur is set down in pakem and i don't think you will find this one in any known pakem. Of course, it is the penchant of collectors everywhere to name, tag and catalog every aspect of the things they collect and keris are no different. So be it disdainful or not, i suspect that people will continue to apply dhapur names to keris for which none should actually apply. As Alan says, the "invention of the trade". And for many if you cannot put a name to every aspect of the keris you cannot possibly understand that keris. But i will disagree that we have a jambiyo-like keris, or a keris-like jambiyo. Why? Because just as a wavy blade of any sort is not automatically a keris as so many uninformed folks seem to think, every blade with a curve like this is not a jambiyo. I just don't think that the curve alone is enough to justify the comparison and think you were being much more accurate describing it as "sickle-shaped".
I also don't think we can necessarily disregard the possibility of esoteric and/or spiritual reasons for regarding this as a legitimate keris. Given that it seem to be clearly old and intention work i do not believe we can ever truly know what the intention of the maker and/or original owner was for this dagger.
For the record it is something i would gladly add to my own collection if i were to have encountered it first.

9th November 2019, 05:01 PM	#22
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,209	Sorry for taking so long to follow up on responses. Thanks for posting these newer photos. From my personal perspective i would certainly call this a keris and can see in your newer pics that it is indeed a well crafted piece that was certainly (or almost so since certainty is dangerous in the keris world ) say that the curve is original and made with intention. I do, of course, agree with Alan on the question of dhapur names. As Alan says, dhapur is set down in pakem and i don't think you will find this one in any known pakem. Of course, it is the penchant of collectors everywhere to name, tag and catalog every aspect of the things they collect and keris are no different. So be it disdainful or not, i suspect that people will continue to apply dhapur names to keris for which none should actually apply. As Alan says, the "invention of the trade". And for many if you cannot put a name to every aspect of the keris you cannot possibly understand that keris. But i will disagree that we have a jambiyo-like keris, or a keris-like jambiyo. Why? Because just as a wavy blade of any sort is not automatically a keris as so many uninformed folks seem to think, every blade with a curve like this is not a jambiyo. I just don't think that the curve alone is enough to justify the comparison and think you were being much more accurate describing it as "sickle-shaped". I also don't think we can necessarily disregard the possibility of esoteric and/or spiritual reasons for regarding this as a legitimate keris. Given that it seem to be clearly old and intention work i do not believe we can ever truly know what the intention of the maker and/or original owner was for this dagger. For the record it is something i would gladly add to my own collection if i were to have encountered it first.