My Batak Keris...my first post

[Rick]

Hello Hugh and welcome to the forums.

You have a real keris blade there, but I don't think you would see a person of the culture wearing this ensemble in public.
As for 100 years that would be doubtful for the dress although I haven't seen many of this dress style in recent years.

As far as the attribution you have been given on this piece goes; we have a saying here; "buy the keris not the story".

We have a very large archive of keris related posts and there is a lot to be learned from doing a search by keyword there, and don't be shy about asking questions.

[milandro]

Hugh, these hilts and sarongs are often made to entice non Indonesians.

Mostly sold outside Bali as being Balinese but aside from a general sarong shape resembling the Balinese ones they feature almost invariably blades of East Javanese origin. The blade may even be old but hardly ever of any quality.

I have seen them also in the form of man and woman hilts ( sold together) and the seller was telling me that he had got them on Bali and that they were wedding krises. They are very crudely made en the embossing is very superficial and undefiled. The shape is almost cylindrical.

There are currently several examples on Etsy but we are not permitted to show krises that are in an active sale or auction.

[HughChen]

Originally Posted by milandro

Hugh, these hilts and sarongs are often made to entice non Indonesians.

Mostly sold outside Bali as being Balinese but aside from a general sarong shape resembling the Balinese ones they feature almost invariably blades of East Javanese origin. The blade may even be old but hardly ever of any quality.

I have seen them also in the form of man and woman hilts ( sold together) and the seller was telling me that he had got them on Bali and that they were wedding krises. They are very crudely made en the embossing is very superficial and undefiled. The shape is almost cylindrical.

There are currently several examples on Etsy but we are not permitted to show krises that are in an active sale or auction.

Mine is not exactly cylindrical, the facial part is protruding. I'm sad to hear this because I paid a lot of money for this kris. And I can only find a similar one here in this forum by google search, I cannot find a similar one anywhere else.

[milandro]

I am sorry to say that most beginners ( I am one too) incur this kind of mistakes. It's learning money one pays.


Similar krises are, every now and again, offered in the NL ( a country which for historical reasons has connections to Indonesia) on secondhand sites.
You will find some similar things on Etsy sometimes.


The reason why content has disappeared is that the links have become dead. This can have several reasons but the main is that they were images which were not uploaded on this forum but only linked with a link to an external source.
That is the reason why it is no longer allowed to do that.

[HughChen]

Originally Posted by milandro

I am sorry to say that most beginners ( I am one too) incur this kind of mistakes. It's learning money one pays.


Similar krises are, every now and again, offered in the NL ( a country which for historical reasons has connections to Indonesia) on secondhand sites.
You will find some similar things on Etsy sometimes.


The reason why content has disappeared is that the links have become dead. This can have several reasons but the main is that they were images which were not uploaded on this forum but only linked with a link to an external source.
That is the reason why it is no longer allowed to do that.

Thank you Milandro, I heard that Keris are very cheap and in big amount in NL, which is definitely a very good thing for collectors.

[David]

Originally Posted by HughChen

Thank you Milandro, I heard that Keris are very cheap and in big amount in NL, which is definitely a very good thing for collectors.

I don't believe you will find GOOD keris very cheap anywhere, not even NL. Of course there are still bargains to be found from time to time, sleeper auctions that somehow get overlooked, but i wouldn't expect to find good keris at low prices these days. If you find something really inexpensive in a public sale question it fully. There is probably a reason for that low price that might not be obvious at first.

[A. G. Maisey]

Once upon a time it might have been possible to obtain old and good keris at reasonable prices in Holland and also in adjacent countries. I have not seen any evidence of this in a very long time, and in fact I know several very experienced collectors who regularly buy from countries that might not be thought of as sources for keris.

[HughChen]

Originally Posted by David

I don't believe you will find GOOD keris very cheap anywhere, not even NL. Of course there are still bargains to be found from time to time, sleeper auctions that somehow get overlooked, but i wouldn't expect to find good keris at low prices these days. If you find something really inexpensive in a public sale question it fully. There is probably a reason for that low price that might not be obvious at first.

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Once upon a time it might have been possible to obtain old and good keris at reasonable prices in Holland and also in adjacent countries. I have not seen any evidence of this in a very long time, and in fact I know several very experienced collectors who regularly buy from countries that might not be thought of as sources for keris.

Thank you for you updated information, which successfully prevents me from planing a trip to NL!

[HughChen]

Originally Posted by Rick

Hello Hugh and welcome to the forums.

You have a real keris blade there, but I don't think you would see a person of the culture wearing this ensemble in public.
As for 100 years that would be doubtful for the dress although I haven't seen many of this dress style in recent years.

As far as the attribution you have been given on this piece goes; we have a saying here; "buy the keris not the story".

We have a very large archive of keris related posts and there is a lot to be learned from doing a search by keyword there, and don't be shy about asking questions.

Thank you Rick, there's one thing about the forum that I've always wanted to say, which is that many contents (#1-#4) in one of your excellent pinned thread 'classics' have become invisible. I don't know the reason. This is a great pity for beginners like me.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3938