Nice real old one from Bali

Marcokeris · 19th October 2007, 01:56 PM

Alan from your picture the handle seems to me a pretty gold handle with a very common subject with a face and body not so expressive (...of course from pictures). About the work's precision the pictures are not so accurate to understand the quality of work.
In my opinion is not gold or "lost wax" to determinate the "soul" of an object but it is the inner power that the artist is able to input in his work.
Of course is better to see a nice hilt made by uli emas, rhino horn, uli hijau, uli putith, amber, ecc... ecc...) than common material.

For example this my Rawana's brother Bali hit is made by a common poor material (like brass) with real poor stones (amethysts, onyx, moon and star stones) but, in my opinion, it (he) has a great expressive force not only in the face but also in the muscles of body.

A. G. Maisey · 21st October 2007, 01:22 PM

Marco, I beg your forgiveness, but I am afraid I am unable to understand exactly what you mean in your post commenting on the relative artistic qualities of the handle of which you have provided a photo, and the gold handle of which I posted some pictures.

I do not understand:- "--- uli emas, -------------, uli hijau, uli putith, ---"

I do not understand your comment:- "---In my opinion is not gold or "lost wax" to determinate the "soul" of an object---".

I cannot understand your comparison of the handles made by court goldsmiths to the Raja of Klungkung, and the Raja of Badung, with the recently made handle of some other material that has been made for the popular market, and of which you have provided a photo.

I freely admit that I may be a little stupid in my lack of understanding, but I would truly appreciate it if you could expand your comments in order to assist my understanding of just what it is that you trying to say.

Thank you for your consideration.

David · 22nd October 2007, 04:14 AM

Sorry Marco, i am afraid i share Alan's confusion. I am having a hard time putting your example in the same room as the other hilts being discussed here.
Here is another Bali gold hilt i find interesting from the Adrien Noe collection.

A. G. Maisey · 22nd October 2007, 04:39 AM

Goodness me.

That is seriously nice.

David · 22nd October 2007, 04:54 AM

Here's a few more angles.

A. G. Maisey · 22nd October 2007, 09:21 AM

Here are a few more Bali handles.

Not in quite the same class as some of the others that have been presented, but nice handles, just the same.

http://kerisattosanaji.com/Baligoldhandle.html

Marcokeris · 22nd October 2007, 03:01 PM

David : Noe's hilt is wonderfull: a superb work.
Alan: uli emas, hijau .. are different kinds of coral (i hope that the dictions are proper). Now from the other picture the quality of hit's work seems better.

A. G. Maisey · 22nd October 2007, 10:08 PM

Thanks for your explanation Marco. "uli" is Balinese? So, this would be the same as "akar", or "root" ? So you are talking about the the talismanic coral roots that are used in Bali ? Is this correct?

Yes, I changed the original photos I had up. The original photos were scans of ten year old negatives, the new photos were done last weekend. There is no doubt that the work in this gold handle is superb. I have a collection of something over 1000 keris hilts, and I have seen and handled many more than this, and in my opinion this gold handle is the best I have ever personally handled, or seen. I am not including hilts of which I have seen photographs, as a photo can often fail to tell the whole story. Moreover, as I have already said, three other people who are regarded as authorities in Asian art, two of whom have an international reputation, have appraised this hilt as one of the finest in existence.If the quality is not obvious to you, then we must hold my inadequate skills with the camera at fault.

19th October 2007, 01:56 PM	#1
Marcokeris Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Italy Posts: 928	Alan from your picture the handle seems to me a pretty gold handle with a very common subject with a face and body not so expressive (...of course from pictures). About the work's precision the pictures are not so accurate to understand the quality of work. In my opinion is not gold or "lost wax" to determinate the "soul" of an object but it is the inner power that the artist is able to input in his work. Of course is better to see a nice hilt made by uli emas, rhino horn, uli hijau, uli putith, amber, ecc... ecc...) than common material. For example this my Rawana's brother Bali hit is made by a common poor material (like brass) with real poor stones (amethysts, onyx, moon and star stones) but, in my opinion, it (he) has a great expressive force not only in the face but also in the muscles of body. Attached Images Last edited by Marcokeris; 19th October 2007 at 02:07 PM.

22nd October 2007, 04:14 AM	#3
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,218	Sorry Marco, i am afraid i share Alan's confusion. I am having a hard time putting your example in the same room as the other hilts being discussed here. Here is another Bali gold hilt i find interesting from the Adrien Noe collection. Attached Images

22nd October 2007, 04:54 AM	#5
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,218	Here's a few more angles. Attached Images

21st October 2007, 01:22 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,011	Marco, I beg your forgiveness, but I am afraid I am unable to understand exactly what you mean in your post commenting on the relative artistic qualities of the handle of which you have provided a photo, and the gold handle of which I posted some pictures. I do not understand:- "--- uli emas, -------------, uli hijau, uli putith, ---" I do not understand your comment:- "---In my opinion is not gold or "lost wax" to determinate the "soul" of an object---". I cannot understand your comparison of the handles made by court goldsmiths to the Raja of Klungkung, and the Raja of Badung, with the recently made handle of some other material that has been made for the popular market, and of which you have provided a photo. I freely admit that I may be a little stupid in my lack of understanding, but I would truly appreciate it if you could expand your comments in order to assist my understanding of just what it is that you trying to say. Thank you for your consideration.

22nd October 2007, 04:39 AM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,011	Goodness me. That is seriously nice.

22nd October 2007, 09:21 AM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,011	Here are a few more Bali handles. Not in quite the same class as some of the others that have been presented, but nice handles, just the same. http://kerisattosanaji.com/Baligoldhandle.html

22nd October 2007, 03:01 PM	#7
Marcokeris Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Italy Posts: 928	David : Noe's hilt is wonderfull: a superb work. Alan: uli emas, hijau .. are different kinds of coral (i hope that the dictions are proper). Now from the other picture the quality of hit's work seems better.

22nd October 2007, 10:08 PM	#8
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,011	Thanks for your explanation Marco. "uli" is Balinese? So, this would be the same as "akar", or "root" ? So you are talking about the the talismanic coral roots that are used in Bali ? Is this correct? Yes, I changed the original photos I had up. The original photos were scans of ten year old negatives, the new photos were done last weekend. There is no doubt that the work in this gold handle is superb. I have a collection of something over 1000 keris hilts, and I have seen and handled many more than this, and in my opinion this gold handle is the best I have ever personally handled, or seen. I am not including hilts of which I have seen photographs, as a photo can often fail to tell the whole story. Moreover, as I have already said, three other people who are regarded as authorities in Asian art, two of whom have an international reputation, have appraised this hilt as one of the finest in existence.If the quality is not obvious to you, then we must hold my inadequate skills with the camera at fault.