A Balinese (?)keris for identification please

[SidJ]

What if any are the implications of the atasan being ivory vs it being bone? Can we draw any inferences if it is one or the other? I presume bone is less prestigious than ivory but could this also enable a reassessment of the date of manufacture from the 1970s to earlier in time? Thanks in advance.

[Jean]

Yes, an ivory atasan is much more prestigious and expensive than a bone one.
Bone would often decay quickly (more or less depending on the type of bone and the selected piece) so it generally looks older than an ivory one of the same age, except if the ivory piece has not been properly selected .
See specimens of an ivory atasan (left), and a whale bone one.
Regards

[SidJ]

I have now received the keris and having checked it carefully I can confirm the Atasan is made of ivory and not bone. I am unsure if this necessitates any reappraisal of the age of the dress or not.

[David]

Originally Posted by SidJ

I have now received the keris and having checked it carefully I can confirm the Atasan is made of ivory and not bone. I am unsure if this necessitates any reappraisal of the age of the dress or not.

Personally i never thought it was bone, but i could not see any evidence of Elephant ivory (Schreger lines). Now that you have it in hand can you tell what type of ivory it might be? I'm not sure how much adjustment there would be to the age of the dress. It does seem newer than the blade and 20th century. Likely post-WWII, but it is still hard to tell from the seller's photos. The atasan does seem a little stiff in it's form which might point more to a later date than earlier. But these photos are all from odd angles. Maybe you could post some new images now that it is in your possession.

[SidJ]

Pics of the keris

[SidJ]

Hi David,
I can see Schreger lines and therefore conclude it is elephant ivory

[SidJ]

pic

[David]

Originally Posted by SidJ

Hi David,
I can see Schreger lines and therefore conclude it is elephant ivory

Thanks Sid. I saw these pics on the FB thread. I could see the Schreger lines there. Clearly elephant ivory. You might need a larger imager to convince the doubters here though.

[A. G. Maisey]

Looks like you had a win Sid --- well, sort of a win.

The problems surrounding ivory these days mean that if you ever want or need to sell this keris your market is very limited.

I have some truly beautiful ivory pieces, not only keris related, and I would like to move them to new homes before I get a promotion, but I do not think that will ever happen --- new homes for the ivory I mean.

[Anthony G.]

Originally Posted by SidJ

Pics of the keris

Nice ivory warangka. Congrats!