Small keris Bugis (?) from e-bay

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Originally Posted by Sajen

Hello Gustav,

yes, the hilt seems to be carved from Kemuning. But the sarung have also a nice grain, I have cleaned it already and it look very nice. Tomorrow I will post some pictures.
That the circle shall be a buntut imitation is possible but when it is like this it is a later addition when the original one go lost. The carving isn't very fine and I don't think that it is from the mranggi who carved the sheath.

Regards,

Detlef

I beleive that your sampir might be kemuning, there is no way of telling for sure unless you can show us pics of the sampir after you have clean it up. You may get wonderful chatoyance (Gehwang) after it is cleaned up & restored.

For your stem - Batang Serunai it is most probably of Sena wood, (Pterocarpus indicus) I think that is the scientific name that it is known as. It doesnt have as good a chatoyance affect as a kemuning but a respectable one. It is the choice of material for the stem Malay keris sheath. as it is lighter and believe to allow the blade to "breathe" better as oppose to the Sampir and Hulu that is usually made of kemuning and other hardwood that is beleive to have medicinal, spiritual and combat efficacy.

Which brings me to the subject of where this is from... My humble opinion is that judging from the shape of the sampr, if it is original to the piece, then the blade may be of a bugis variation from the peninsula... maybe up north. You may wish to get better insights from Alam & BlueErf on this tho. Be waiting for the restored pics...