Period Pics Of Keris In Hand or Being Worn

[David]

Originally Posted by kai

Quite a few of these pics were staged, so you have to evaluate them carefully. Pics from gatherings are more likely to be real than some of those done for European/colonial customers (postcards).

That may be true Kai as with the image of the two Bali warriors i posted, however i would think that that would not be the case with portraits of royalty in terms of the way they would wear or hold their keris. So even though the image of Gusti Ngura K'tut Djilantik is a portrait sitting i think you can feel confident that the photographer didn't position the keris in the photo for his own aesthetic purposes.

[Laowang]

Kai, I would agree that the photos I posted can be considered "staged" in the sense that they are formal portraits in traditional dress no different from how a modern Japanese woman might sit for a formal photographic portrait in a kimono. The portrait sitters probably did not dress like that everyday, but rather for special occasions (just like my example of the modern Japanese woman). However, the dress itself and mode of wearing the keris appear culturally and historically accurate.

[Laowang]

Here's an intriguing photograph from the Tropenmuseum's collection taken in 1910-20. Note that the subject is wearing a European-style jacket combined with his keris.

[Laowang]

Photo attached, this time.

[Laowang]

Upon reflection, it occurs to me that the first photo I posted (also from 1910-20) shows a similar mix of Western & traditional clothing on two of the portrait sitters.

[kai]

Yes, nobility having pics taken by colonial photographers are probably more likely to dress closer to European style than possibly usual for them (jackets, shoes, etc.).

BTW, my comment was meant on colonial pics in general, not specifically directed at those attached by Lawing and David...

Regards,
Kai

[Green]

as a comparison, here is the latest picture of the current and the new king of Malaysia (the king is rotated among the sultans of various states and each king reign for five years) wearing the royal regalia : notice the two kerisses . The new king is from the state of Kelantan.