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Originally Posted by Jean
Hello David,
Regarding your valid question about the origin and age of this picit blade I am referring to the book "Keris and other Malay weapons" from G.B. Garner (ex-Johor Civil Service agent) first published in 1936 and one of the few reference books about Malaysian weapons, but not a very reliable source IMO. In pages 33, 34, and 36 of his book he describes and shows pictures of some krisses picit from his collection without mentioning their area of origin (Malaysia?), although they look quite similar to the Javanese ones (the pics are very poor). He also refers to forgeries of Trengganu Majapahit-picit krisses with a broad punched blade and integral hilt.
Regards
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Thanks Jean. I have and have read Gardner's book. I agree that he is not a particularly reliable source of information at times. I wish we had better images of the two keris sajen that he claims are "forgeries" made in Terengganu, or even more information about what he means when he says "forgeries". From the bad copies of photos in that book those blades do indeed look very much like Javanese keris sajen. He doesn't mention what convinced him that these examples were made in Teregganu. But if they were made in Terengganu i don't know why they would necessarily be considered "forgeries". Who would such "forgeries" have been made for? In the mid 1930s was there really a market for such things?
Gardner clearly does not understand the purpose of such keris (either keris sajen or picit) given this remark:
"Of the ten keris pichit I have only two that are thick enough to be used as keris; the others, being not much thicker than tin, would bend if used with any force, so I conclude they were used principally as talismans; but of course they may have been poisoned and used in the same way as k. majapahit ..." It would seem that at this point he limited his definition of keris solely to those that could be used as weapons (and he seems to have believed that keris sajen were not talismanic blades, but used as weapons in conjunction with poison).