Keris with elephant-headed blade.

[apolaki]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

This is a Balinese keris, the hilt & fittings do not belong with the blade. By "Balinese", I mean Balinese culture, it could have as easily been made in Lombok as in Bali itself.

In respect of the hilt, my personal preference would be to leave exactly as it is, no restoration attempts, but demount from the blade and keep separate in a situation that would be kind to ivory, ideally this would be controlled humidity & temperature, but for most of us this is not possible. Certainly in a situation where it is not exposed to sunlight or artificial lighting and is protected from dust. A small glass of water in the same space would give a measure of added protection.

Wow, so that is the proper care of this material. If it is left mounted on metal pesi, will it crack? Is it the same if it were mounted on an all wood stand? Also, what does the water do? Thanks!