Identifying 3 hilts

[A. G. Maisey]

All Bali style.

Can I have a look at the back of the top hilt please? He's probably Nawa Sari, but I need to see the back to be certain.

I cannot identify the other two.

[apolaki]

Hi, here is the back side of the first hilt. If it is Nawa Sari, can you tell me more about who that is?

Do you know more about the names of the face less figures on the other two hilts? One is covered by long hair and the other is like an abstract faceless figure.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

All Bali style.

Can I have a look at the back of the top hilt please? He's probably Nawa Sari, but I need to see the back to be certain.

I cannot identify the other two.

[David]

I agree with Alan that the top one is most probably Nawa Sari. I assume Alan wants to see the grain sheaf in the hand behind the back, but everything else about this hilt fits the commonly encountered design for Nawa Sari.
The hilt with the hair over the face probably doesn't represent a single figure, but i seem to recall story of leyak or ghosts that are know to appear in this form, so that is the direction i would investigate with that.
No idea on the really abstract one, but i do find it to be really cool.

[apolaki]

Thanks all for your impressions! What about this hilt, who could it be representing?

[A. G. Maisey]

Yep, Nawa Sari.

For a long time, a lot of people believed that Nawa Sari had nine heads of rice in his hand (nawa = nine) in fact he has a pandanus flower in his hand.

There was Forum discussion of this not all that long ago.

See:-

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ight=nawa+sari

[apolaki]

Thanks for the link to your description of Nawa Sari!! It was really interesting to read through.

I am interested to know if there are Balinese keris hilts in the shape of Barong? Do you happen to have any photos or discussions on that topic?

Would you say the photo below is Barong perhaps or another carving of Nawa Sari? The one below seems to be wearing a mahkota. I also took a photo of the back, and seems like there is something being held in the hand in the same orientation as Nawa Sari. Thanks again!

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Yep, Nawa Sari.

For a long time, a lot of people believed that Nawa Sari had nine heads of rice in his hand (nawa = nine) in fact he has a pandanus flower in his hand.

There was Forum discussion of this not all that long ago.

See:-

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ight=nawa+sari

[Rick]

It's always nice to be able to see the handle from a few angles; it makes identification easier.

[apolaki]

Thanks Rick!

What is the Prabu commonly holding in his hand?

Is there any story or history tied to Prabu hilts?

Originally Posted by Rick

It's always nice to be able to see the handle from a few angles; it makes identification easier.

[apolaki]

Originally Posted by apolaki

Thanks for the link to your description of Nawa Sari!! It was really interesting to read through.

I am interested to know if there are Balinese keris hilts in the shape of Barong? Do you happen to have any photos or discussions on that topic?

Would you say the photo below is Barong perhaps or another carving of Nawa Sari? The one below seems to be wearing a mahkota. I also took a photo of the back, and seems like there is something being held in the hand in the same orientation as Nawa Sari. Thanks again!

Does anyone know if this is a carving of Barong or Nawa Sari?

[milandro]

I am bumping this,

I have a similar hilt on a Balinese Keris, the seller, a great connoisseur in the NL, told me that this represents Rarung (or Rarong) a witch asistent of Rangda

[Jean]

Originally Posted by apolaki

Thanks all for your impressions! What about this hilt, who could it be representing?

IMO, this hilt depicts a prabu (king). This is a fairly common and standard style of hilt from Bali/Lombok.
Regards