Important Collection of Antique Asian Arms
Lot 246:
Keris from Bali are considered some of the finest among the Indonesianarchipelago. As Bali is a Hindu society, the influences on the keris have survived theIslamicization of form and design found elsewhere in the region, with some exceptions. As aresult, Balinese keris often sport hilts carved with richly designed Hindu deities in much morerealistic manner than the more the stylized interpretations found in other parts of the region, suchas the highly stylized Garuda imagery of the Bugis or Sumatra. The keris played a particularlyimportant role in Balinese society, and is used as a ritual tool in almost every Balinese religiousceremony. Standing as pusaka, a powerful sanctified heirloom and serving as a strong marker ofsocio-economic status, a keris could only be made by Pande blacksmiths who claim status higherthan that of a Brahman. Balinese keris with Balinese forged blades generally display lessvariation 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 atrest.This example in the Schmiedt Collection has a black wood carved hilt in the form of a Balinesedemon or raksasa, of which there are numerous types. The bulging eyes and fangs are the clearindictors of the type, while the flowing hair is finely detailed in the carving. The wewer, or ringbetween the handle and blade, is set with semi-precious stones, while the selut is carvedintegrally to the hilt representing the form of selut found on other hilts which is separate andinlaid with semi-precious stones. The blade is an old 17 luk form called dhapur kalawijan (andrepresents a blade with any number of luk more than 13). These high luk blades were purportedto have special meanings and relevance to the owners. The pamor is of the style called pamortiban, or an unexpected pattern, and of the type called beras wutah (spilled rice grains).Overall mid 20th century.Total Length (inside scabbard if present) : 25 1/2" Blade Length : 20 3/4"References:1. Frey, E. (1988) The Kris: Mystic Weapon of the Malay World. Oxford University Press.2. Mardianto, W. A to Z â€â€œ Sesuatu mengenai KERIS dan TOMBAK KERIS â€â€œ SENJATATRADISIONAL INDONESIA A to Z3. Ki Empu Jhuel. Pamor Keris4. Ghiringelli. V. (2007) The Invincible Krises 2. Saviolo Publisher5. Van Zonneveld, A.G. (2001) Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago.Leiden: Art Books6. Gardner, G.B. (2009) Keris and other Malay Weapons. Orchid Press7. Weihrauch, A., Kloubert, U. and Aljunied, A. (2017)The Gods & the Forge: BalineseCeremonial Blades- The Gods & the Forge in a Cultural Context. IFICAH8. Neka, W. S. (2014) Understanding Balinese Keris: An Insiders Perspective. Neka ArtMuseum.Detailed condition reports are not included in this catalog. For additional information, including condition reports, please contact us at [email protected]
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