Features of this keris.

nechesh · 24th December 2005, 11:30 PM

Sorry Kai Wee, i didn't mean to throw that out as a cut-off price, just trying to throw out a number which was high enough to imply that one might pay, say $10,000 for a keris and still not get a "high culture" piece, just a VERY nice (hopefully

) keris. Again, these are arbitrary figures. Personally, i would just love to be that "lucky guy" who buys such a keris for only $1 (Santa, are you listening

), but i don't really think this happens all to often. Still.....

Certainly it is true that there are some royal blades in high-end dress that could be considered mediocre. But these are not the keris that are generally presented to us collectors. What i was referring to were keris we see on the open market and especially on ebay and yes, we might consider these guys "unscrupulous dealers". It is especially common to see this done with Balinese keris as the Balinese still make very fine dress of gold, silver and gemstones which can dazzle the eye of the unsuspecting collector.
Where did you see the blade on the Sumatran keris on the cover of Court Arts? I don't recall seeing a photo of it in the book. The dress is indeed exquisite.

BluErf · 24th December 2005, 11:38 PM

Yes, the photos were not published. sorry, can't share them because they're not mine to do so... But yes, just imagine a good old tough Bugis luk 7 blade with pamor kulit semangka, ujung gunong, wengkon, and a fair bit of akhodiat; the kembang kacang worn off a bit at the end; the luks are shallow but beautiful. There are no sogokans, lis-lisan, not much greneng.

BluErf · 24th December 2005, 11:42 PM

Ok, just to put an image to the description -- this is from my collection.

The Court Arts of Indonesia Bugis blade is of the same form, but nicer all round, and in better condition.

Battara · 25th December 2005, 01:25 AM

You both bring out some good points (like the one on my head

). I thought the workmanship on the one about which I speak was good on the gold dress, the pamor was interesting, though not of high contrast.

I guess the high-culture ones you speak are the ones in the museums and the books like "Court Arts of Indonesia".

BluErf · 26th December 2005, 02:38 AM

There are a few that I know of that are in private collections. But they are the 'imperfects' - i.e. missing sheaths, replacement sheaths of lesser qualities, sheaths and hilts with the gold and gems picked off, corroded blades (oh this is the saddest part -- you could see the blade was once magnificent, but now it's eaten away here and there).

As collectors, we can only hope for the best and when 'the one' comes along, give it our best shot.

Alam Shah · 26th December 2005, 03:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BluErf

As collectors, we can only hope for the best and when 'the one' comes along, give it our best shot.

Ditto to that, and hopefully comes unnoticed. There are many with 'hawk eyes'.

John · 26th December 2005, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alam Shah

Ditto to that, and hopefully comes unnoticed. There are many with 'hawk eyes'.

I think many of the "hawk eyes" are from Singapore,

some fierce collectors (and some low keyed of course) there. Understand the 4rd keris in Man's post of 22nd also went to Spore.

24th December 2005, 11:42 PM	#3
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	Ok, just to put an image to the description -- this is from my collection. The Court Arts of Indonesia Bugis blade is of the same form, but nicer all round, and in better condition. Attached Images

24th December 2005, 11:30 PM	#1
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	Sorry Kai Wee, i didn't mean to throw that out as a cut-off price, just trying to throw out a number which was high enough to imply that one might pay, say $10,000 for a keris and still not get a "high culture" piece, just a VERY nice (hopefully ) keris. Again, these are arbitrary figures. Personally, i would just love to be that "lucky guy" who buys such a keris for only $1 (Santa, are you listening ), but i don't really think this happens all to often. Still..... Certainly it is true that there are some royal blades in high-end dress that could be considered mediocre. But these are not the keris that are generally presented to us collectors. What i was referring to were keris we see on the open market and especially on ebay and yes, we might consider these guys "unscrupulous dealers". It is especially common to see this done with Balinese keris as the Balinese still make very fine dress of gold, silver and gemstones which can dazzle the eye of the unsuspecting collector. Where did you see the blade on the Sumatran keris on the cover of Court Arts? I don't recall seeing a photo of it in the book. The dress is indeed exquisite.

24th December 2005, 11:38 PM	#2
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	Yes, the photos were not published. sorry, can't share them because they're not mine to do so... But yes, just imagine a good old tough Bugis luk 7 blade with pamor kulit semangka, ujung gunong, wengkon, and a fair bit of akhodiat; the kembang kacang worn off a bit at the end; the luks are shallow but beautiful. There are no sogokans, lis-lisan, not much greneng.

25th December 2005, 01:25 AM	#4
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,272	You both bring out some good points (like the one on my head ). I thought the workmanship on the one about which I speak was good on the gold dress, the pamor was interesting, though not of high contrast. I guess the high-culture ones you speak are the ones in the museums and the books like "Court Arts of Indonesia".

26th December 2005, 02:38 AM	#5
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	There are a few that I know of that are in private collections. But they are the 'imperfects' - i.e. missing sheaths, replacement sheaths of lesser qualities, sheaths and hilts with the gold and gems picked off, corroded blades (oh this is the saddest part -- you could see the blade was once magnificent, but now it's eaten away here and there). As collectors, we can only hope for the best and when 'the one' comes along, give it our best shot.