Sumatran Mystery?

[David]

Originally Posted by Jean

Your blade is only 9 inches long while the one shown by Kai is 13 inches long.

I'm not sure what you are trying to say here. Kai has suggested that this keris may have been intended to be a keris bahari. My understanding of those blades is that they are usually around 10 in. long. Kai's example is 13 in. which might be a little long for that form. Mine is a little short for that form (and why i first wondered if it was intended as a patrem. But if you are implying that my blade has been reshaped and shortened because Kai's example is 4 in. longer i would have to respectfully disagree. I see no evidence that this blade was ever any longer.

Originally Posted by Jean

The horn buntut may not be original as it looks very shiny and not well proportioned IMO (too short). It may have been added at the same time as the one at the base of the hilt? Yes, some krisses Panjang attributed to Bangkinang include this V-shaped buntut (see Zonneveld page 64), however these krisses may actually originate from Malaysia...
You will also see some Sumatrese scabbards with V-shaped buntut in the Krisdisk from K.S Jensen in Chapter 9.3 (Krisses from Sumatra), but none in the Malaysia chapter.

I suspect that the horn buntut was also original to this sheath. While it may be a bit too short in comparison to similar sheaths i believe that the wider stem necessary to accommodate this broader (for it's length) blade may have dictated that. Also, like this blade, not all sheaths are made in outland areas to the specifics of the court.