A gamble, your opinion?

A. G. Maisey · 25th July 2012, 06:51 AM

I started to see keris with brass kinatah, and brass kinatah gold plated, in the late 1980's, and they continue to be available until today.

As with virtually all keris of the modern era they are made for local consumption, and they are bought by Indonesians as dress keris. Obviously the people who buy them want a bit of bling and cannot afford gold.

I have seen much older keris with kinatah from brass and from alloys other than gold, but these are not common.

The right to kinatah work on a keris was sometimes granted by a ruler, much as medals are given in our own society, however in the far distant past it was also a prerogative of rank. In more recent times --- and I don't know from precisely when --- kinatah was used by anybody who wanted it and could afford it.

As a general rule, we seldom find kinatah work combined with complex pamor.

25th July 2012, 06:51 AM	#15
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	I started to see keris with brass kinatah, and brass kinatah gold plated, in the late 1980's, and they continue to be available until today. As with virtually all keris of the modern era they are made for local consumption, and they are bought by Indonesians as dress keris. Obviously the people who buy them want a bit of bling and cannot afford gold. I have seen much older keris with kinatah from brass and from alloys other than gold, but these are not common. The right to kinatah work on a keris was sometimes granted by a ruler, much as medals are given in our own society, however in the far distant past it was also a prerogative of rank. In more recent times --- and I don't know from precisely when --- kinatah was used by anybody who wanted it and could afford it. As a general rule, we seldom find kinatah work combined with complex pamor.