Winter Antique Art and Arms, Dec.14th., 2024
Lot 6806:
Superb Antique Indonesian Bali KERIS Dagger with Fine Carved Grip & Exquisite Damascus Steel Blade.
Total Length: 19 1/4", Blade Length: 15 1/2".
Keris from Bali are considered some of the finest among the Indonesian archipelago. As Bali is a Hindu society, the influences on the keris have survived the Islamicization of form and design found elsewhere in the region, with some exceptions. As a result, Balinese keris often sport hilts carved with richly designed Hindu deities in much more realistic manner than the more the stylized interpretations found in other parts of the region, such as the highly stylized Garuda imagery of the Bugis or Sumatra.
Keris are found with a variety of blade shapes and forms, though the Balinese keris with Balinese forged blades generally displayl ess variation than those from Java which has an extremely wide and disparate field of keris blades, with hundreds of forms and patterns.
Keris blades are found in both straight and curved forms, and there is no qualitative or symbolic difference between these two basic shapes. Traditionally, the wavy blade is ascribed as a snake (or naga) in motion, while the straight blade is a naga at rest. The Balinese carving tradition, displayed in the fine quality of carved keris hilts, started about the 11th century with Buddhist and Hindu influences. While Bali was a colony of the Majapahit Kingdom carving continued to flourish and by the 16th and 17th century recognizable Balinese carved hilts were brought back to Europe to reside now in various ethnographic institutional collections (Dam-Mikkelsen and Lundbaek 1980). This example in the Schmiedt Collection has a very finely carved hilt seemingly in the form of a Balinese demon, raksasa. The bulging eyes and fangs are the clear indictors of the type, while the flowing hair is finely detailed in the carving. The mendak is in the Javanese form, while the selut is carved integrally to the hilt. The blade is a fine straight example called dhapur luk lurus, which according to esoteric belief indicates religiosity. The well-defined pamor pattern is called kupu tarung, or fighting butterflies, and represent rows of butterflies opposite another along a line running the length of the blade.
Early 20th century.
References:
1. Frey, E. (1988) The Kris: Mystic Weapon of the Malay World. Oxford University Press.
2. Mardianto, W. A to Z Sesuatu mengenai KERIS dan TOMBAK KERIS SENJATATRADISIONAL INDONESIA A to Z
3. Ki Empu Jhuel. Pamor Keris
4. Ghiringelli. V. (2007) The Invincible Krises 2. Saviolo Publisher
5. Van Zonneveld, A.G. (2001) Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago. Leiden: Art Books
6. Gardner, G.B. (2009) Keris and other Malay Weapons. Orchid Press
7. Weihrauch, A., Kloubert, U. and Aljunied, A. (2017)The Gods & the Forge: Balinese Ceremonial Blades- The Gods & the Forge in a Cultural Context. IFICAH
8. Neka, W. S. (2014) Understanding Balinese Keris: An Insiders Perspective. Neka Art Museum
9. Dam-Mikkelsen, B., Lundbaek, T. (1980) Ethnographic Objects in The Royal Danish Kunstkammer, 1650-1800 Nationalmuseet.
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