Thanks for all your comments so far.
I don't know whether early Malay
kris differed from early Moro
kris. I suspect they were fairly similar, as it has been postulated that the Filipino
kris may have given rise to the Malay
kris. Nor do I know how early Moro
kris differed from early Brunei
kris. I'm calling this one a Moro
kris, but it could be Malay or Brunei in origin.
A central twist core flanked by hardened edges is typical of many early Moro
kris that we have seen on these pages. The twist core could reflect a higher quality of sword, and a higher chance of it surviving to the present time, so I don't think we should be too carried away by the presence or absence of a twist core. I don't know how frequently twist core appears on Malay or Brunei
kris, but I suspect the technique was not invented by Moro
panday.
There is one feature that I mentioned earlier that is unusual on this sword, and that is the gap below the elephant trunk area and the adjacent
gangya, as indicated by the arrow in this picture.
I have seen this before on very old Moro
kris displayed in a Spanish Museum, but I am struggling to find the picture in our archives. I will post a copy of that picture when I find it again. My question to our experts is, have you seen this feature on Malay or Brunei
kris, or any of their Indonesian
keris relatives?