Sumatra Keris tourist or not?

A. G. Maisey · 8th April 2010, 10:52 PM

Yes, its a Madura keris, and as David mentions, this style of dress is sometimes associated with keris that were produced for collectors in the period from around 1880 through to WWII.

However, simply because there seems to have been production directed at the collector market does not make this style of dress any less desirable, in fact, old examples of this dress style are now relatively scarce and for the better ones, quite expensive, especially those which are carved as lions.

In my opinion, it is wrong to think of this type of dress as "tourist", because it is a genuine and old established type of dress, however Europeans favoured it because it is elaborate, and blades redressed for sale in the later colonial era were probably dressed this way to facilitate sale.

Examples of this dress can be seen in the museum of the Kraton Sumenep, in Madura. There are a number of different styles, all having different names. I understand the generic name is "gabilan", but there is another larger style that is named "brahmana rsi". I am unclear on the distinction between the two, except that the brahmana rsi is larger.

I do not favour the term "tourist keris", most especially for any type of keris that does have a legitimate old form. If I consider the types of keris that have been made specifically for the tourist market there is really only one type from Indonesia that I can fit squarely into that box, I do not have an example I can show a photo of, but it is a Balinese production, the scabbard is almost always of Makassar ebony, but later ones were stained black, the carving of scabbard and hilt is often of a very high standard, and very often the blade is a piece of flat iron with an etched pamor design. This type of keris was produced exclusively for tourist consumption.

8th April 2010, 10:52 PM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,013	Yes, its a Madura keris, and as David mentions, this style of dress is sometimes associated with keris that were produced for collectors in the period from around 1880 through to WWII. However, simply because there seems to have been production directed at the collector market does not make this style of dress any less desirable, in fact, old examples of this dress style are now relatively scarce and for the better ones, quite expensive, especially those which are carved as lions. In my opinion, it is wrong to think of this type of dress as "tourist", because it is a genuine and old established type of dress, however Europeans favoured it because it is elaborate, and blades redressed for sale in the later colonial era were probably dressed this way to facilitate sale. Examples of this dress can be seen in the museum of the Kraton Sumenep, in Madura. There are a number of different styles, all having different names. I understand the generic name is "gabilan", but there is another larger style that is named "brahmana rsi". I am unclear on the distinction between the two, except that the brahmana rsi is larger. I do not favour the term "tourist keris", most especially for any type of keris that does have a legitimate old form. If I consider the types of keris that have been made specifically for the tourist market there is really only one type from Indonesia that I can fit squarely into that box, I do not have an example I can show a photo of, but it is a Balinese production, the scabbard is almost always of Makassar ebony, but later ones were stained black, the carving of scabbard and hilt is often of a very high standard, and very often the blade is a piece of flat iron with an etched pamor design. This type of keris was produced exclusively for tourist consumption. Last edited by A. G. Maisey; 8th April 2010 at 11:14 PM.