A precursor to the keris?

S.Workman · 18th November 2014, 10:24 PM

I have been very much out of the loop for several months, this being my busy season at work. Last weekend I did get a chance to slip away (well, it was partially business), and I got to spend several hours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. It is a very crowded museum, but luckily for me the galleries of ancient art that I especially enjoy were almost totally ignored by the crowds who were off to see chandeliers made of old milk jugs, or whatever. I found this interesting fellow in the section of Hindu/Indian art. He is described as a deity, possibly Shiva, Gupta period, about 6th century. He is wearing a dagger, which looks rather like the ones described by Mr. Alan Maisey as being ancestral to the keris. I am interested to hear what anyone thinks of this.
The dagger aside, this is a beautiful sculpture. I would describe it as about half life size. The detail is great, just look at the scabbard on the dagger.

A. G. Maisey · 18th November 2014, 10:44 PM

Yes, this is a well known dagger type, and you can see exactly similar representations on Early Classical period sculptures in Central Jawa.

But you cannot see the blade.

The daggers, Prambanan I and Prambanan II show the blades, and on Prambanan II we can see the first representation of a dagger with keris-like characteristics.

The form of these daggers types comes from the leaf shaped blade that can be found all the way back to ancient Greece --- possibly even before this.

18th November 2014, 10:24 PM	#1
S.Workman Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 116	A precursor to the keris? I have been very much out of the loop for several months, this being my busy season at work. Last weekend I did get a chance to slip away (well, it was partially business), and I got to spend several hours at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. It is a very crowded museum, but luckily for me the galleries of ancient art that I especially enjoy were almost totally ignored by the crowds who were off to see chandeliers made of old milk jugs, or whatever. I found this interesting fellow in the section of Hindu/Indian art. He is described as a deity, possibly Shiva, Gupta period, about 6th century. He is wearing a dagger, which looks rather like the ones described by Mr. Alan Maisey as being ancestral to the keris. I am interested to hear what anyone thinks of this. The dagger aside, this is a beautiful sculpture. I would describe it as about half life size. The detail is great, just look at the scabbard on the dagger. Attached Images

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18th November 2014, 10:44 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,085	Yes, this is a well known dagger type, and you can see exactly similar representations on Early Classical period sculptures in Central Jawa. But you cannot see the blade. The daggers, Prambanan I and Prambanan II show the blades, and on Prambanan II we can see the first representation of a dagger with keris-like characteristics. The form of these daggers types comes from the leaf shaped blade that can be found all the way back to ancient Greece --- possibly even before this.