Proper pictures of keris, kris and other SEA archipelago daggers at the ACM

Alam Shah · 25th January 2012, 11:02 AM

Thanks for the effort! It's not easy to capture these photos under low light, reflection and other 'noises'.

Sajen · 25th January 2012, 12:32 PM

Hello Alam,

thank you very much for this pictures taken under this circumstances! Where have been this exhibition? Very nice blades are shown, wow!!

Regards,

Detlef

BluErf · 25th January 2012, 01:09 PM

No problems, Shahrial. Glad to share these, and to help promote the ACM a bit.

Hi Detlef, these kerises are part of the permanent exhibits at the the Singapore Asian Civilisations Museum.

I encourage you to visit the museum if you are in Singapore. Put aside a full day for the museum! there are many other good artefacts on exhition, and they are well curated with proper write-ups explaining what you are seeing.

Sajen · 25th January 2012, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BluErf

Hi Detlef, these kerises are part of the permanent exhibits at the the Singapore Asian Civilisations Museum.

I encourage you to visit the museum if you are in Singapore. Put aside a full day for the museum! there are many other good artefacts on exhition, and they are well curated with proper write-ups explaining what you are seeing.

Thank you Alam, this is now on my to-do-list when I am next time in Singapore!

Regards,

Detlef

Raja Muda · 25th January 2012, 02:27 PM

Hi Blu,

The pictures got me wondering how you managed to pull it off. The staff gave me a stern look when I tried to snap pictures of 'Si Ginje' and the golden crown of Siak during the 'Sumatra - Isle of Gold' exhibition.

Alam Shah · 25th January 2012, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raja Muda

The pictures got me wondering how you managed to pull it off. The staff gave me a stern look when I tried to snap pictures of 'Si Ginje' and the golden crown of Siak during the 'Sumatra - Isle of Gold' exhibition.

During that exhibition, photo-taking was prohibited in that exhibition hall. Signages were posted before entry into the gallery and many witihin it. Guards were roving around. It was difficult to take photos.. I went there twice. Once with BluErf and another occasion with Ganjawulung.

The pictures posted here are the ones on permanent display in another hall. Photo-taking is allowed but no flash photography elsewhere in the museum.

David · 25th January 2012, 02:54 PM

Thanks for this look-see Kai Wee. You did a fine job under the circumstances. Quite a few real beauties here. In the future i would suggest that it would be best to post only the kerns on this forum and start a separate thread for the other weapons in the general forum. That will not only keep our forum specific, but will also open these to viewing by other forum members who rarely visit this side of the fence.

DAHenkel · 25th January 2012, 04:50 PM

As curator of the display I suppose I should comment at least a bit on these...

...the "Moro" pieces in the first few photos were collected in 1902 by a Mr. N.B. Denys. We have no further info on who he was but presumably was a colonial civil servant of sorts. Most were bought in Brunei.

The Bugis keris with the lawe setukel pamor is one of my all time favorite kerises. The batang of the sheath is ever so subtly waisted and the swoop of the sampir is divine.

The burung serindit piece was carved by Tengku Ismail - one of the most attention to detail oriented carvers of all time. It is a masterpiece - Nik Din once told me Ku 'Smail had over 4000 tools in his workshop...talk about detail oriented.

The tajong is one of the best of Nik Din's works...its the whole package from micro to macro - a genuine masterpiece.

The badik Makara is IMO Nik Rashidee's single best work. We're very proud to have it on display.

The Pattani Singabarong is ultra-rare and a singular piece. I've seen others but I've never seen better.

The two "Palembang" pieces are said to have been the property of Pangeran Said Ali, I've found enough info to be sure that he was a historic figure from the mid-19th century from Siak and that he did visit Singapore regularly in the '40s and 50s but I have yet to unearth the original records of how the pieces entered into the collection...btw I think the pendokok of the Jawa Demam hilted example was added later by one of my early predecessors as such examples are usually Peninsular.

Also, I undertand your frustration at the light levels in the galleries but because there are also textiles on display in this gallery we have to be careful where and how much light we use in the displays. Hope you all understand...

BluErf · 26th January 2012, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

Thanks for this look-see Kai Wee. You did a fine job under the circumstances. Quite a few real beauties here. In the future i would suggest that it would be best to post only the kerns on this forum and start a separate thread for the other weapons in the general forum. That will not only keep our forum specific, but will also open these to viewing by other forum members who rarely visit this side of the fence.

Hi David,

Ok, I'll do that for future posts.

25th January 2012, 02:27 PM	#5
Raja Muda Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Posts: 100	Stealth needed? Hi Blu, The pictures got me wondering how you managed to pull it off. The staff gave me a stern look when I tried to snap pictures of 'Si Ginje' and the golden crown of Siak during the 'Sumatra - Isle of Gold' exhibition.

25th January 2012, 11:02 AM	#1
Alam Shah Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,248	Thanks for the effort! It's not easy to capture these photos under low light, reflection and other 'noises'.

25th January 2012, 12:32 PM	#2
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 9,207	Hello Alam, thank you very much for this pictures taken under this circumstances! Where have been this exhibition? Very nice blades are shown, wow!! Regards, Detlef

25th January 2012, 01:09 PM	#3
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	No problems, Shahrial. Glad to share these, and to help promote the ACM a bit. Hi Detlef, these kerises are part of the permanent exhibits at the the Singapore Asian Civilisations Museum. I encourage you to visit the museum if you are in Singapore. Put aside a full day for the museum! there are many other good artefacts on exhition, and they are well curated with proper write-ups explaining what you are seeing.

25th January 2012, 02:54 PM	#7
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,218	Thanks for this look-see Kai Wee. You did a fine job under the circumstances. Quite a few real beauties here. In the future i would suggest that it would be best to post only the kerns on this forum and start a separate thread for the other weapons in the general forum. That will not only keep our forum specific, but will also open these to viewing by other forum members who rarely visit this side of the fence.

25th January 2012, 04:50 PM	#8
DAHenkel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 125	As curator of the display I suppose I should comment at least a bit on these... ...the "Moro" pieces in the first few photos were collected in 1902 by a Mr. N.B. Denys. We have no further info on who he was but presumably was a colonial civil servant of sorts. Most were bought in Brunei. The Bugis keris with the lawe setukel pamor is one of my all time favorite kerises. The batang of the sheath is ever so subtly waisted and the swoop of the sampir is divine. The burung serindit piece was carved by Tengku Ismail - one of the most attention to detail oriented carvers of all time. It is a masterpiece - Nik Din once told me Ku 'Smail had over 4000 tools in his workshop...talk about detail oriented. The tajong is one of the best of Nik Din's works...its the whole package from micro to macro - a genuine masterpiece. The badik Makara is IMO Nik Rashidee's single best work. We're very proud to have it on display. The Pattani Singabarong is ultra-rare and a singular piece. I've seen others but I've never seen better. The two "Palembang" pieces are said to have been the property of Pangeran Said Ali, I've found enough info to be sure that he was a historic figure from the mid-19th century from Siak and that he did visit Singapore regularly in the '40s and 50s but I have yet to unearth the original records of how the pieces entered into the collection...btw I think the pendokok of the Jawa Demam hilted example was added later by one of my early predecessors as such examples are usually Peninsular. Also, I undertand your frustration at the light levels in the galleries but because there are also textiles on display in this gallery we have to be careful where and how much light we use in the displays. Hope you all understand...