Bitten by the Keris Bug

[F. de Luzon]

Originally Posted by kai

Hello, welcome to the forum!

It does look like a nice blade. I'd second David's request for more pics! Close-ups are really needed to evaluate a blade and also try to narrow down the type of wood utlized.

As already indicated, it would also be necessary to define "high quality" - the highest quality was usually reserved for royalty. Even then, the highest quality for one region/sultanate might not be valued exactly the same elsewhere (and vice versa)... (Same-o with different eras, so period may also be an issue to keep in mind.)

Regards,
Kai

Thanks for the warm welcome! I'm beginning to understand that keris culture is highly sophisticated. I was mistaken in my choice of words for I should have stated "decent" or "acceptable" rather than "high quality." Please pardon the continuing vagueness of the terms and I hope you understand what I mean.

My intention was to purchase a keris as a souvenir but I wanted one that was of better quality than the ordinary tourist keris. I recently started an antique Moro kris collection and I wanted a keris melayu that would fit in.

I saw a wide variety when I was searching but this was most similar to the ones I saw at the Islamic Arts Museum. I am happy, based on your comments, that this appears to be of an "acceptable" standard. Your words are very reassuring.

I've also looked at many keris online and I saw some very refined examples. The ones for royalty are probably (surely) of a much higher standard than the one I got.

I find this a very interesting topic. Especially how standards vary across time and space. There's so much to learn! Thank you for your insights. I am looking forward to learning more. I will post close ups soon.