Seeking Information on Keris

[elsquibble]

Hello everyone I'm new here.

I've recently acquired a keris and I'm seeking some opinions on it. Having never owned one before I don't know much about it. I can't find any with a similar handle so I'm not sure that is correct.

Hopefully someone can give me some information, I have done a bit of reading and there are so many variations it must take years of experience to be able to accurately identify one of these, they truly are a fascinating subject.

I have attached some photos of the keris in question.

Thanks.

[Marcokeris]

The old hilt seems to come from true tribal Art...never i have seen together a keris before. Nice old dress <3 ... About the blade I don't know what to say but surely I like

[jagabuwana]

Welcome elsquibble, glad you found your way here.

When I saw this on another forum I was quite thrown by both handle and blade. Riau or Bugis came to mind when it came to the sheath. As for the blade, the blumbangan looked oddly wide/big to my eye and the gusen (angled edges) looked inconsistent in a way that I haven't seen before.

Would be interested to hear other opinions about this one.

[kai]

I’m with Marco: Nice scabbard!

The hilt most certainly is a non-traditional concoction. This should be easy to replace.

The blade deserves a thorough cleaning. It originally was a straight blade that got altered by stock removal to become somewhat undulated - if this was done by any Indonesian, he (or she) should be exiled!

Sorry for the bad news. If you hide the blade in the (cleaned) scabbard and get a suitable hilt+pendokok (search for Bugis on this forum and especially look for pieces with very similar scabbards), this still will make a nice display. Don’t worry, most of us have done worse with our first keris...

Regards,
Kai

[elsquibble]

Not so good then, what do you mean by stock removal Kai? I will give it a clean soon. It looks good hanging on my wall and I suppose that's what matters most I agree the sheath look like Bugis after looking at some photos. Thanks for your help.

[Marcokeris]

I wouldn't clean it but only change the handle and, if necessary, the pendok

[kai]

what do you mean by stock removal Kai?

Along the center of the blade runs a kind of straight plateau; this is bordered by broad sides sloping towards the edge (i.e. the blade being hexagonal). The sides have been heavily grinded to achieve an undulating look which wasn't originally intended (if so, the center would also be undulating).

I agree the sheath look like Bugis after looking at some photos.

It's probably Riau to be more specific. However, a hilt for a keris Riau does not need to be from that very area - lots of Bugis-influenced hilt styles to be found throughout the greater Straits area.

Regards,
Kai

[Jean]

Originally Posted by kai

Along the center of the blade runs a kind of straight plateau; this is bordered by broad sides sloping towards the edge (i.e. the blade being hexagonal). The sides have been heavily grinded to achieve an undulating look which wasn't originally intended (if so, the center would also be undulating).

If you apply a ruler on the pic of the blade (on the back side especially), it appears difficult if not impossible that the blade was originally straight or even slightly curved (dapur sepokal), so personally I would think that it was originally wavy but heavily grinded on the sides indeed.
Regards

[kai]

Hello Jean,

The pics are taken at an angle; only the last 2 pics are more reasonable.

I still see a Bugis sepokal blade (the tip is quite dark and in this top half the grinding may also have affected the central panel...).

Regards,
Kai

[David]

Originally Posted by Jean

If you apply a ruler on the pic of the blade (on the back side especially), it appears difficult if not impossible that the blade was originally straight or even slightly curved (dapur sepokal), so personally I would think that it was originally wavy but heavily grinded on the sides indeed.
Regards

Jean, i attempted to adjust one of the photos for a clearer view. To me it would appear that this blade was definitely reshaped into a wavy form in a rather awkward manner by grinding back the gusen at various intervals. The center plateau of this blade appears to remain straight to my eye.

[Jean]

Before agreeing or not, I would like to see a pic of the blade taken at a vertical angle (just above the blade) and without the hilt so that it lies flat on the floor.
Anyway, I don't share Marco's opinion about this blade
Regards

[elsquibble]

I will get another photo for you later Jean.I do believe that the center does look straight though but I'll have a look again when I get home.

[elsquibble]

I've got another couple of photos looking down from above, apologies for the delay I've been very busy. I do think it's straight the whole way down though which is unfortunate.

Does anyone have the faintest idea of why this might have been done? Could it be a repair of a blade with a chip or something? More likely someone thinking they can make it more valuable if it's wavey.

[David]

For some reason there are many people who seem to believe that a keris is specifically a wavy blade weapon and perhaps they did believe that converting this to a blade with luks would make it more sellable or valuable. I am afraid that they were wrong and unfortunately ruined what was worn, but serviceable old blade.

[elsquibble]

It is a shame however at least it still looks good in the scabbard. I am glad I bought it as it has introduced me to the world of the keris, I can certainly see myself buying a few more. One more question, would what is described as a yogyakarta style hilt suit this? Thanks.

[Jean]

Thank you for the pictures and I agree that this blade was probably a straight blade but sepokal type (slightly curved).
As the scabbard is in Bugis Sumatra style, a Bugis style hilt (pistol grip) would be the best choice (see pic).
Regards

[David]

Originally Posted by elsquibble

One more question, would what is described as a yogyakarta style hilt suit this? Thanks.

Yogyakarta is a Javanese kingdom so no, such a jilt would not be suitable for this keris.
The one that Jean has shown would be a much more acceptable form, however, for a keris like this that has been irreparably damaged i would not personally invest is an ivory hilt like the one Jean shows. Look for this form in a wooden variety.

[elsquibble]

Thanks I'll keep a look out for a similar hilt.