Why and What We Collect--A Tale of Two Barung

A. G. Maisey · 24th August 2014, 09:40 AM

Although my life-long passion has been the keris, I do collect other things as well, other weaponry of course, but also paper weights, carvings in various mediums, Australian rural paintings, pocket knives, cameras, South East Asian ethnographica, precious and semi precious stones, watches, books, bicycles and so on and so on and so on.

When it comes right down to it, I collect things that I like, I'm the person who has to live with what I buy, and I do not need to satisfy anybody but myself.

For instance, my two favourite paper weight types are at opposite ends of the spectrum:- end-of-day weights, and flower weights, especially flower weights with filigree work. I'll buy any other weights that might appeal to me on any particular day also. I understand the quality indicators in paper weights, and I understand the hierarchy of the various makers, but these things don't influence me when I buy, I buy what I like. I do not buy weights for investment, nor with any intention to resell, I buy because I like looking at them and handling them.

Now, if I consider the things that influence me to buy keris, in fact, my way of buying is not much different to my way of buying paper weights:- I buy those keris that I like. It wasn't always thus, when I began to collect keris I bought every keris I found and that I could afford to buy. By age 30 I finished up with one hell of a lot of keris that I gradually decreased in number over the next 10 or 12 years. But I did learn a lot from that early collection. For about the last 30 or so years my keris collecting has been much more selective, but it is still governed by the principle of buying what I like.

So, my collecting habits are very subjective. I do not collect keris based on rarity, nor on quality, nor on artistic merit, nor on any other consistent, logically defensible factor.

However, it would probably be fair to say that my lengthy involvement with keris collecting does seem to dictate that the keris that I like are almost invariably quite desirable in one way or another, even if it is sometimes necessary to point out to a fellow collector why I find a particular piece desirable.

Desirability in anything is not always obvious, nor is it governed by any single consistent factor.

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24th August 2014, 09:40 AM	#14
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,016	Although my life-long passion has been the keris, I do collect other things as well, other weaponry of course, but also paper weights, carvings in various mediums, Australian rural paintings, pocket knives, cameras, South East Asian ethnographica, precious and semi precious stones, watches, books, bicycles and so on and so on and so on. When it comes right down to it, I collect things that I like, I'm the person who has to live with what I buy, and I do not need to satisfy anybody but myself. For instance, my two favourite paper weight types are at opposite ends of the spectrum:- end-of-day weights, and flower weights, especially flower weights with filigree work. I'll buy any other weights that might appeal to me on any particular day also. I understand the quality indicators in paper weights, and I understand the hierarchy of the various makers, but these things don't influence me when I buy, I buy what I like. I do not buy weights for investment, nor with any intention to resell, I buy because I like looking at them and handling them. Now, if I consider the things that influence me to buy keris, in fact, my way of buying is not much different to my way of buying paper weights:- I buy those keris that I like. It wasn't always thus, when I began to collect keris I bought every keris I found and that I could afford to buy. By age 30 I finished up with one hell of a lot of keris that I gradually decreased in number over the next 10 or 12 years. But I did learn a lot from that early collection. For about the last 30 or so years my keris collecting has been much more selective, but it is still governed by the principle of buying what I like. So, my collecting habits are very subjective. I do not collect keris based on rarity, nor on quality, nor on artistic merit, nor on any other consistent, logically defensible factor. However, it would probably be fair to say that my lengthy involvement with keris collecting does seem to dictate that the keris that I like are almost invariably quite desirable in one way or another, even if it is sometimes necessary to point out to a fellow collector why I find a particular piece desirable. Desirability in anything is not always obvious, nor is it governed by any single consistent factor.