Very unusual old keris , any ideas ?

[A. G. Maisey]

Yes Jean, it sure does. I wonder why?

I've got a lot of marine ivory, not just hilts, but also carvings from netsuke size to ones as big as a very large whales tooth, I've also got some scrimshaw, and an unknown number of whales teeth that are still natural. I've not seen that layering effect on anything that I have. I wonder what causes it?

[Jean]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Yes Jean, it sure does. I wonder why?

I've got a lot of marine ivory, not just hilts, but also carvings from netsuke size to ones as big as a very large whales tooth, I've also got some scrimshaw, and an unknown number of whales teeth that are still natural. I've not seen that layering effect on anything that I have. I wonder what causes it?

Yes Alan it is very unusual, and the only one in my collection (some of my hilts show few layers on the sides). It most probably originates from Sulawesi (I bought it from a Bugis gentleman in East Kamimantan) but I don't know for sure from which tooth it is made. It does not seem to be made from elephant ivory (no cracks, etc.), nor from dugong (the tooth is too small), probably not from hippo (no visible interstitial line, etc.), and probably not from walrus (not common and no typical marble appearance). So which alternative remains? Sperm whale tooth but the aspect is not typical of it. Other opinions are welcome, I add the pic of the other side for reference.
Regards

[chiefheadknocker]

Thanks for all your input here , ive taken a couple more pics , im no expert but i dont think its bone , ive owned fijian whale tooth necklace (tabua) and the composition is more like this than bone

[Rick]

Inconclusive as far as that hole being a natural feature of the material.

[Ian]

I think Jean's example is most likely hippo ivory. See here for some pics of hippo ivory that show similar patterns.

A quick search for "keris" and "hippo ivory" produced an item currently for sale in The Netherlands. I won't post the link for obvious reasons. But the description included an interesting claim about Bugis trade with Africa:

The Buginese type keris is one of the oldest known in Indonesia, The hippo ivory hilts were imported by Buginese sailors in Africa before the 15th century as described in Robert Dick Read’s Penjelajah Bahari.