A bugis Keris for discussion

Rafngard · 30th November 2016, 03:38 AM

Hello All,

Since I'm at home tonight (rather than at my regularly scheduled tuesday night silat class) due to illness, I decided to take a few pics of my newest Keris. Please forgive the paper towel backdrop. I I cleaned and oiled it just before taking pics.

It was sold to me for a (in my opinion) ridiculously low price by a fellow collector. His wife (I believe of Indonesian descent) hates keris and WANTED THEM OUT OF THE HOUSE NOW. Needless to say, he was motivated to sell. Lucky me!

The blade is thick and heavy, showing a clear hexagonal cross section. While I forgot to get a photo of it, the peksi is quite thick, and a bit curved. The previous owner tells me the blade was once stained in the Javanese style, but I'm pretty happy with the current stain. There are a few spots of pitting, and it had a little bit of active rust when it arrived, but nothing WD40, lime juice, soap, water and elbow grease couldn't take care of. A few black stops remain.

The wrangka is not original to the Keris, and is newer, though the previous owner tells me both it and the keris came from Sulawesi. The shape of the gambar looks a little odd for Sulawesi to my eye, and I wonder if it has been reshaped at some point. He also says that the wrangka was originally covered in snakeskin (presumably on the gandar), but the skin was eaten by insects, who also damaged the horn on the buntut. This seems weird to me, and I haven't had any luck finding any examples of a wrangka covered with snakeskin. The silver filigree bands (which I'm very enamored with) sit a bit loosely on the gandar as is, and certainly fit more snugly with something under them. The wood is also highly chatoyant.

I'm a bit torn as to what I want to do with the wrangka. I could find a bit of snake skin, and return it to how it was, or the previous owner suggested I could made brass shims to fit under the silver bands, and polish the wood. I'm also a bit torn about the crescent shaped gambar. I'm hoping forum members might have some thoughts.

As always, any thoughts, comment, suggestions, and/or corrections are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Leif

30th November 2016, 03:38 AM	#1
Rafngard Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Minneapolis,MN Posts: 326	A bugis Keris for discussion Hello All, Since I'm at home tonight (rather than at my regularly scheduled tuesday night silat class) due to illness, I decided to take a few pics of my newest Keris. Please forgive the paper towel backdrop. I I cleaned and oiled it just before taking pics. It was sold to me for a (in my opinion) ridiculously low price by a fellow collector. His wife (I believe of Indonesian descent) hates keris and WANTED THEM OUT OF THE HOUSE NOW. Needless to say, he was motivated to sell. Lucky me! The blade is thick and heavy, showing a clear hexagonal cross section. While I forgot to get a photo of it, the peksi is quite thick, and a bit curved. The previous owner tells me the blade was once stained in the Javanese style, but I'm pretty happy with the current stain. There are a few spots of pitting, and it had a little bit of active rust when it arrived, but nothing WD40, lime juice, soap, water and elbow grease couldn't take care of. A few black stops remain. The wrangka is not original to the Keris, and is newer, though the previous owner tells me both it and the keris came from Sulawesi. The shape of the gambar looks a little odd for Sulawesi to my eye, and I wonder if it has been reshaped at some point. He also says that the wrangka was originally covered in snakeskin (presumably on the gandar), but the skin was eaten by insects, who also damaged the horn on the buntut. This seems weird to me, and I haven't had any luck finding any examples of a wrangka covered with snakeskin. The silver filigree bands (which I'm very enamored with) sit a bit loosely on the gandar as is, and certainly fit more snugly with something under them. The wood is also highly chatoyant. I'm a bit torn as to what I want to do with the wrangka. I could find a bit of snake skin, and return it to how it was, or the previous owner suggested I could made brass shims to fit under the silver bands, and polish the wood. I'm also a bit torn about the crescent shaped gambar. I'm hoping forum members might have some thoughts. As always, any thoughts, comment, suggestions, and/or corrections are greatly appreciated. Thanks, Leif Attached Images