Ancestor hilt or tourist piece?

[Alam Shah]

Ok, disregard the 'priest-like' comment.. the breasts looks more woman-like..

Looking in Bambang Harsrinuksmo's 'Ensiklopedi Keris', pg 500.. there are 2 examples of ancestor hilts from Nusa Tenggara Timur.. in a different pose, but worksmanship of similar type.. which indicate that besides Sumatra, these type of hilts, do exist elsewhere in the Indonesian Archipelago.

[mrwizard]

Thanks again to a contributors. :-)

Just in case someone wondered about my lack of feedback: I didn't abandon this thread, but because as new member my posts are moderated and didn't appear until a few hours ago (see post #8 and #12) ;-)

@David
I'm not sure if the hair looks like the batak hair-style on the statue it is more round (see attached pictures) and i also think the person depicted is female but the carving style looks very similar.

@PenangsangII
The hilt fullfils it's purpose for sure. It fits very well and provides good hand contact for stabbing moves. And I'm also sure even equipped with a sireh pestle it would be a formidable weapon in the right hands.
It also think it is quite possible that the hilt was made be a non keris-carrying culture to decorate the keris as a family pusaka. But of that, i think, we will never know.

@Alam Shah
You are probably right this could have originated anywhere in S.E. Asia. This thread shows example of similar craftmanship across the whole area, spanning several cultures. And then there remains always the possibility that it has been made by an "independent artist" that doesn't follow a certain cultural style.

I think what can be said for sure is that this keris hilt doesn't fit in any mainstream category, else one of the many experts here would have identified it.
And that there are several examples of similar artwork within many different places and cultures in the area.
So, until someone comes up with a very similar specimen from a known source all we dicuss here is just wild speculating.
For know i will just file the keris under "one-of-a-kind-hodgepodge" ;-)

Best Regards,
Thilo

[A. G. Maisey]

When we consider the keris, or anything else for that matter, we tend to look at it in terms of what we know to be true at the present time. Where the dress for keris is concerned we are accustomed to seeing wrongkos and hilts that have been crafted by artisan craftsmen with usually very high levels of skill.

But consider this:- in some societies in Maritime SE Asia, even up to recent times, the dress of the weapon was crafted by the owner. The hilts in particular were a homage to ancestors, or a personal hope for protection of deities or spirits, and the skill shown in carving these hilts was an advertisement for the personal qualities of the carver . This advertisement was noted by women as an indication of his suitability as a husband.

Even now I have known people in Bali to carve their own keris hilt, and in Jawa for people to carve their own wrongko.

This keris under discussion could well be a composite that has been put together for one reason or another, however , the hilt could well be an owner's personal effort to provide something usable. Once you move away from the influence of the kratons it seems to me that almost anything goes in respect of keris dress.

[Rick]

I'd like to mention that there are no 'Experts' here; only students .

[A. G. Maisey]

Here are a few more primitive style hilts.

#5 is from a pelecok, I have no idea what the other hilts are from.

[Marcokeris]

Two others primitive (batak) styles

[mrwizard]

Thanks for showing those great examples. I think i'm beginning to like this kind of hilt style... it's somewhat
more - how to call it - "personal"

Best Regards,
Thilo