Palembang Keris for your comment

Gustav · 21st November 2013, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Last year I handled a lot of very old blades in European museums. None had any evidence of ever having been stained, the surfaces were smooth and polished, where a blade did have a pamor you needed to get it under angled light to see it.

Alan,

there are at least three old kerisses with preserved old staining, the first one in Dresden (Inv.N. 2895, I am sure you have it in your notices), the second one in Vienna, this one beeing mentioned in 1607. It has a Bali-like finish and deep blue-black staining. Also the keris of Peter the Great in Eremitage (St. Petersburg), which he bought in early 1716 (a twin of Inv.N. 2880 in Dresden, bought 1714), has an intact black staining.

A. G. Maisey · 21st November 2013, 10:02 PM

Yes, you're right Gustav, Dresden 2895 does still have evidence of a stain on the blade. I've just looked at my photos of this keris, and my notes. I have noted:- "This looks very much like a Bali blade but the greneng and rondha are very confused, single front sogokan, kruwingan into tikel alis, kruwingan to luk 3"

My comment that none of the early blades had evidence of a stained blade was incorrect, however, the vast bulk of these old blades do not bear evidence of having been stained. Thank you for refreshing my memory.

Before anybody asks:- sorry, but I have signed undertakings that prohibit my publication and sharing of images of any of these historic keris.

A. G. Maisey · 21st November 2013, 10:10 PM

John, I use plastic sleeves, I buy the plastic in Indonesia where it is used for food packaging, but cling-wrap works just as well, its just a bit more fiddly to use. Sometimes the keris will sit back in the wrongko, sometimes not, but even if it does, it won't display very well with the plastic sticking out the top of the wrongko. I normally do not display my collection, but I do rotate a couple of keris in blawongs, and these do not have plastic wrap when on display. The very worst way to store a keris is in its wrongko. Rule #1 for storage of ferric material is that you keep it out of contact with cellulose material.

21st November 2013, 10:02 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,056	Yes, you're right Gustav, Dresden 2895 does still have evidence of a stain on the blade. I've just looked at my photos of this keris, and my notes. I have noted:- "This looks very much like a Bali blade but the greneng and rondha are very confused, single front sogokan, kruwingan into tikel alis, kruwingan to luk 3" My comment that none of the early blades had evidence of a stained blade was incorrect, however, the vast bulk of these old blades do not bear evidence of having been stained. Thank you for refreshing my memory. Before anybody asks:- sorry, but I have signed undertakings that prohibit my publication and sharing of images of any of these historic keris.

21st November 2013, 10:10 PM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,056	John, I use plastic sleeves, I buy the plastic in Indonesia where it is used for food packaging, but cling-wrap works just as well, its just a bit more fiddly to use. Sometimes the keris will sit back in the wrongko, sometimes not, but even if it does, it won't display very well with the plastic sticking out the top of the wrongko. I normally do not display my collection, but I do rotate a couple of keris in blawongs, and these do not have plastic wrap when on display. The very worst way to store a keris is in its wrongko. Rule #1 for storage of ferric material is that you keep it out of contact with cellulose material.