Moro: Kalis Seko with old restoration!

[kai]

Hello Maurice,

Yes I noticed those holes also. It could be as you said, but it also could be that this was a first (failed) try to attach the crosspiece to the vertically part of the scabbard, because it was broken at the other side (where the biggest part is missing).....Maybe somebody on the forum can tell us if the moro's used these kind of pegs to attach the crosspiece to the second wooden part...

Yup, wooden pegs are not uncommon to fix the crosspiece to the stem (also seen in other keris as Rick noted). These were most likely original and already present before the fatal break as shown by the less severly affected side.

Thank you for your information, but changing the crosspiece is no option to me..

Sure, that's too nice!

I think also patching is not what i am going to do. Maybe I use some ratan to hide it or some moro fabric, cause I like the restoration and the old patina which I don't want to interfere with....

I do have mixed feelings regarding restoring this piece. If the old repair can be shown to be non-genuine, I could well imagine removing all the rattan and fiber, patching the crosspiece and covering all up with a nice band of silver (and also adding another at the foot of the scabbard and possibly a ferrule). If not, I'd prefer to keep it as it is now (except for a silver band at the foot of the scabbard) rather than trying to cover any of the break as well as repair work...

Regards,
Kai