Never seen a keris like this

[Alam Shah]

I believe it's a Maranao kris, the hilt is a feature. I've seen a similar piece in John's collection. Unfortunately, KampungNet is still not up, yet. Should be able to see it in a a day or two, hopefully.

[Battara]

It is Moro alright, and the metal work is okir with gold and silver. I think though it is Sulu and later than WWII. Nice work for recent material. Might be made for a recent wealthy datu (chieftain).

[kai]

The base of the blade of this kris has many features of a 20th century piece. I wonder wether it might be a bit older than WW2 period though: There seems to be a separate gangya or possibly just an engraved line...

I second the call for more pics, especially close-ups of the base of the blade!

Regards,
Kai

[Ian]

I agree with Jose. This seems to be a Sulu style of kris, but I would have a small bet it is Maranao made. The okir work looks very much like the contemporary kris of similar style coming frm two brothers in the Lake Lanao region. The quality of their ornamentation is very high, but the blades are poor quality.

I would check the provenance of this one very carefully. It could well be less than 20 years old. This particular type of small kris is being reproduced very well and could easily deceive a buyer into thinking they have acquired an antique "Sultan's kris" (which is often how they are described).

These contemporary kris will appear more frequently outside the Philippines, as they diffuse into more Western markets. Caveat emptor.

Does anyone else think the hilt on this one looks a little Balinese?

Ian.

Edit: An after thought about the blades on the recently produced Maranao "Sultan's" kris. They are usually etched with acid to give a "watered" appearance and are usually not a laminated construction -- the blade pictured above has the rather mottled appearance of an etched rather than a laminated pattern, but it's hard to tell from pictures. They also usually have an engraved line rather than a truly separate gangya.

Originally Posted by Battara

It is Moro alright, and the metal work is okir with gold and silver. I think though it is Sulu and later than WWII. Nice work for recent material. Might be made for a recent wealthy datu (chieftain).

[hoorn178]

I will try to make a close up picture of the base of the blade and will post it this evening (EU time). The gangya seems to be seperate.

Thanks and regards,

Bart.

[hoorn178]

I will try to mail a close up of the blade base. As far as I can see the gangya is seperate.

Thanks,

Bart.

[hoorn178]

Dear all,

I am not able to make a good sharp close up picture with my digi camera of, among others, the gangya. However when I came home from work I took a very close up and I can see a line but I now doubt the gangya is realy seperate. So perhaps the keris was made somewehere in the late thirties . That fits with the passing away of the original owner in 1942. Perhaps no antique but still am very happy with my keris since the decorations are very nice and of high quality. It looks really good hanging on my wall next to old black and white pictures of moro sultans and Java nobility , my two (simple) genuine kerisses from Indonesia and my carved animal skull (see picture).

Many thanks for your imput.
Bart.

[hoorn178]

The hilt is about 12 cm and the blade about 30 cm so total keris is about 42 cm. Enclosed the best I can do for a close up. I only have a simpel digi camera. Hope you all can tell me more about this keris.

Thanks,

Bart.