First Keris Sword

[kai]

I also considered bidding on this one - I believe this is a good first kris to obtain (and am sure more are going to follow... )

Here are some thoughts on this piece: Take them with a chunk of salt - this is just to lure the more seasoned folks into participating here!

I think this is a sound, possibly village-style blade. It could originate from Mindanao (Maguinanao?) although I wouldn't bet on this. This could be a 19th century blade but I guess this might be a revival piece from the first half of the 20th century. The blade seems to be in good condition: Consider a thorough cleaning (perhaps *very* slight polishing by hand) followed by a vinegar staining to bring out details of the blade. Please don't forget to post pics!

Also the hilt (and to a lesser extent the scabbard) seems to have some age to it - very nice to have it complete with both asang-asang (in steel). I'm fairly sure that the decorations" are aluminium "nails" put on there recently to enhance selling. Maybe I'm paranoid but I've seen these "improvements" of genuine, old blades becoming more prevalent during the last 1-2 years. Charles is a nice guy and I'm confident that he got them from his suppliers like this. One could argue that this is legitimate since it's done within Moro culture and follows an old tradition to embellish blades but I can't help to be sorry for the blades and the original artisans crafting these pieces since the recent mutilations (e. g. adding features at the gangya or hilt, adding new inlays, adding gaudy hilts to village blades, etc.) are often very crudely done, too flashy and also usually not true to decorations of blades of the same type or from the same region or period.

Also the dots along the gangya seem to have been filled recently. However, since original holes were used, you can either finish the sloppy job by decent polishing or easily remove the metal plugs.

Comments/corrections?

Regards,
Kai