Quote:
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Originally Posted by Jean
This slim hilt has a normal lenght for a Madurese piece (about 9 cm) and a practical explanation for its small diameter could be that it was made from taring duyung (dugong tusk) which has a quite small size as compared to other local sources of ivory (elephant tusk and spermwhale tooth). 
Regards |
That was my first thought in post #2, that the size of this hilt was most likely determined by the size and shape of the material being used to carve it.
Alan, thanks for the additional info on children with keris. I was aware that this did happen, but always thought it to be a rare occurrence. Certainly not all children as young as 6 carried keris or we would see a lot more patrem size keris i would think. Or would they sometimes wear a full-size keris for formal occasions?