large Keris

A. G. Maisey · 14th October 2013, 04:16 AM

I'm sorry gentlemen, but based upon what I can see in the photo, I am not prepared to give this an unqualified designation of "tourist keris".

Yes, the scabbard and hilt are definitely manufactured for the Bali souvenir market, but not within the last few years, I'd place this work around 1970-80.

The blade is probably a plain old Balinese or Lombok blade. I've only got a photo to work on here, but I have never, ever seen a blade produced for the souvenir market that has had as much work put into it as this one. From what I can see, this is a genuine keris, however, a rather plain one. We must not forget that the vast bulk of keris were made for the vast bulk of people and the vast bulk of people did not have vast bulks of money.

However, to improve commercial appeal the "pamor" pattern has been produced by batiking the blade --- the pattern applied with wax, the blade stained, the wax washed off with boiling water.

In fact, I have now come to believe that keris like this one do have a place in a well balanced collection. Decent ones haven't been around in Bali for quite some time.

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14th October 2013, 04:16 AM	#5
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	I'm sorry gentlemen, but based upon what I can see in the photo, I am not prepared to give this an unqualified designation of "tourist keris". Yes, the scabbard and hilt are definitely manufactured for the Bali souvenir market, but not within the last few years, I'd place this work around 1970-80. The blade is probably a plain old Balinese or Lombok blade. I've only got a photo to work on here, but I have never, ever seen a blade produced for the souvenir market that has had as much work put into it as this one. From what I can see, this is a genuine keris, however, a rather plain one. We must not forget that the vast bulk of keris were made for the vast bulk of people and the vast bulk of people did not have vast bulks of money. However, to improve commercial appeal the "pamor" pattern has been produced by batiking the blade --- the pattern applied with wax, the blade stained, the wax washed off with boiling water. In fact, I have now come to believe that keris like this one do have a place in a well balanced collection. Decent ones haven't been around in Bali for quite some time.