Coteng ended by ebay!

[David]

Originally Posted by Sajen

What I want to say is, that I believe that the blade from the coteng in question will have a acceptable good looking blade which will not be more worse as the ones you can see in the links in up.

Well Detlef, i must respectfully disagree with you. Except for your second link i would say that every other example shown here has a distinctly better blade that this example. The two shown in link #2 however are much closer to the quality of this blade, which frankly is fairly low. Clean it up all you can and it will still be a low quality blade. As i stated originally, it is not about the simplicity of the blade. A keris blade can be simple, yet elegant and artfully crafted. The blade in question appears to be neither to me and no amount of clean up is going to change that. The blade in your own tajong example is a definitely a superior blade to this ones, albeit in a bad state of eroded condition.
This really becomes a matter of personal preference in collecting. I find that indeed many if not most Coteng keris have rather inferior blades, but those who collect this form seem far more interested in the dress. This also seems to be the case to a lesser extent with tajong, though i have seen some beautiful blades in those ensembles. Simple, yet elegant and well crafted. Still, the emphasis seems to be on the dress with this form as well. I am not debating whether or not this is "correct", simply that it is just not my preference. For me the keris is all about the blade and the dress, though important, is secondary. This is not an argument for debate, simply my personal preference. I certainly agree that the buyer of this Coteng probably felt completely comfortable with his purchase price, but if so it is because he has a different imperative for collecting than i do.

[Sajen]

Yes, understand your point of view and agree with you that those who collect Coteng are more interest in the dress and hilt.

Regards,

Detlef

[BluErf]

Well, whatever floats our boat! ;p

[BluErf]

The discussions remind me of why I went from collecting Javanese/Balinese kerises to Malay/Bugis kerises. Beyond looks, there are also less visible qualities in kerises that can endear them to collectors. Ok, I'm not talking about magic or djinn-inhabited kerises, but tough and functional kerises.

I'll never forget the feeling of holding my first Bugis sepokal blade. It was butt-ugly, but it exuded power and confidence. Sure, anyone else might laugh at its unkempt appearance, but not for very long if they find themselves at the wrong end of it. ;p

Some Malay kerises don't look it, but they are tougher than they look. I've been surprised more than a few times by thin blades which are tough as hell and hold a keen edge. I guess there is more to life than looks.

[David]

Well Kai Wee, i actually like your sepokal blade and don't find it "butt-ugly" at all. In fact i like the sepokal form in general and agree with you about it toughness and functionality. But i also see both subtlies and quality there that seem sorely missing it the blade in this coteng ensemble.