A bronze Keris hilt - help needed to identify figure etc.

kai · 9th June 2019, 09:54 AM

Yes, Rick, some of the tumpal motifs have been preserved in this design.

There also seems to be a garuda mungkur at the back of the head.

I'm fairly sure there are fangs - we need sharper pics for verification though.

There seem to be 2 elephants depicted at the front.

The hilt sure does seem to have some age despite metal castings being notoriously difficult to appraise. However, I don't see any of the common motifs/details of very early carved hilts and suspect this piece is later work.

Tim, any resin (or wood) inside the hilt?

Regards,
Kai

9th June 2019, 09:54 AM	#12
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,255	Yes, Rick, some of the tumpal motifs have been preserved in this design. There also seems to be a garuda mungkur at the back of the head. I'm fairly sure there are fangs - we need sharper pics for verification though. There seem to be 2 elephants depicted at the front. The hilt sure does seem to have some age despite metal castings being notoriously difficult to appraise. However, I don't see any of the common motifs/details of very early carved hilts and suspect this piece is later work. Tim, any resin (or wood) inside the hilt? Regards, Kai