Very unusual presentation kris/keris—Malay?

kai · 17th July 2024, 08:32 PM

Hello Ian,

This blade style is usually found on the Malay peninsula. This is corroborated for the second example by the scabbard foot which is a Melayu feature (peninsula or coastal Sumatra). I'd place this blade into the second half of the 19th c.(or a tad later); hilt has been reworked/restored.

The quality of these blades can vary quite a bit. The first blade exhibits pretty poor cold work and is most likely fairly young (despite the hole in the central fuller - probably bad judgement by the worker). In this case, I'm not even positive that it represents genuine native work (vs. Madura/etc.). Fittings are also modern.

Regards,
Kai

17th July 2024, 08:32 PM	#8
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,254	Hello Ian, This blade style is usually found on the Malay peninsula. This is corroborated for the second example by the scabbard foot which is a Melayu feature (peninsula or coastal Sumatra). I'd place this blade into the second half of the 19th c.(or a tad later); hilt has been reworked/restored. The quality of these blades can vary quite a bit. The first blade exhibits pretty poor cold work and is most likely fairly young (despite the hole in the central fuller - probably bad judgement by the worker). In this case, I'm not even positive that it represents genuine native work (vs. Madura/etc.). Fittings are also modern. Regards, Kai