IFICAH funding sale at Czerny's

[Jean]

Originally Posted by David

There were many decent keris in this collection that sold for well under 200 euro. In fact there were a good number of very collectable items that went for under 100 euro. Kind of crazy in this day and age.

Yes I agree and managed to buy few of these items at bargain prices. However the "precious" pieces with ivory fittings, kinatah or naga blades fetched quite high prices.
Regarding the replica kris and based on the available pics only (so not reliable) I have my doubts that the dress is made from pure gold as the base metal (silver or brass) is visible on the surface of the hilt especially. I am not a specialist of metal analysis but can a standard gold test kit distinguish between pure gold and thick gold plating/ gilding?
Also I believe that IFICAH and Czerny's would have checked this critical issue before posting this "high" kris.
Regards

[David]

Originally Posted by Jean

Regarding the replica kris and based on the available pics only (so not reliable) I have my doubts that the dress is made from pure gold as the base metal (silver or brass) is visible on the surface of the hilt especially. I am not a specialist of metal analysis but can a standard gold test kit distinguish between pure gold and thick gold plating/ gilding?
Also I believe that IFICAH and Czerny's would have checked this critical issue before posting this "high" kris.
Regards

If this is true Jean then i would say that Czerny is guilty of fraud and should be prosecuted.

[David]

Searching through again i found most of the naga blades to be relatively new creations that i had little interest in. There are also many blades with kinatah that went for well under 200 euro including one that went for only 80 euro. So i don't think the materials made that much difference in this auction.
One of the keris i did quite like was #236. I might have actually bid on it, but didn't want to suffer the disappointing of having the ivory janggalan hilt confiscated in customs (a hilt form still not represented in my collection). But it was the entire ensemble that struck my fancy really. And it actually reached a more respectable price than most in this collection. You didn't happen to get this one, did you Jean?

[David]

Jean, did you notice the damage at the back waist of the hilt figure. The gold foil is cracked all the way across. It was only just pointed out to me.

[Jean]

You are right David about the low prices, it shows the lack of interest of European collectors for the keris (and too many pieces for sale), and the effect of the stupid ivory ban regulations. However some pieces with ivory scabbards were sold at much higher prices.
Regards

[Jean]

Originally Posted by David

Jean, did you notice the damage at the back waist of the hilt figure. The gold foil is cracked all the way across. It was only just pointed out to me.

These hilts on resin are very fragile, I had one broken during transport but fortunately it was nicely repaired by an Indian jeweler.
Regards

[David]

Originally Posted by Jean

These hilts on resin are very fragile, I had one broken during transport but fortunately it was nicely repaired by an Indian jeweller.
Regards

Well, hopefully the new owner of this one knows an equally talented Indian jeweler.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by David

Well, hopefully the new owner of this one knows an equally talented Indian jeweler.

I hope that he is just a rich benefactor for IFICAH.

Czerny's are usually quite careful/ conservative about their descriptions, although they often make mistakes about the origin of the pieces and the materials (ivory vs bone/ antler especially).
Regards

[David]

Originally Posted by Jean

Yes I agree and managed to buy few of these items at bargain prices. However the "precious" pieces with ivory fittings, kinatah or naga blades fetched quite high prices.

Well Jean, i just ran did a really quick search of the auction and in less than 60 seconds grabbed these 5 keris, all of which have nice ivory handles. They went all sold for between 100 and 200 euro. Three of these went for under 150 euro. And again, i grabbed these literally in less than 60 seconds.