- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
- Messages
- 1,861
Bugis Keris from the island of Sumbawa. Typical Bugis sheath in Tanggah shape with silver Buntut and Toli-Toli.
Another interesting story. I got this keris from a dealer who specializes in other weapons. He was not sure what he had, so he put it on eBay. Let the market decide. He did not have much invested in it.
If this was an authentic piece, it would be VERY valuable. I thought it was, and maybe a "sleeper."
I bid quite high, ($1,250) partly because I though it could be genuine and because I knew the dealer and he had a return policy IF it was not genuine. Sometimes it is very hard to tell from the pictures, but when you have it in your hands, you can often tell.
Anyhow I thought it could be genuine and very rare. Particulary all sliver. A fairly good, but common pamor on the blalde. BTW I do not post public pictures of Indonesian keris, but will email them privately if you like.
When the auction ended, another collector had bid $1,000. I won it for $1025! I was very excited until I got it. Oops! Not authentic. Too light and silver plated. A very good job, but not authentic.
So I emailed the dealer and told him of my findings. He knows that I have some knowledge of these and accepted my opinion. He offered to sell it to me for $150 "as a curio" and I accepted.
This is why I like good dealers!
Another interesting story. I got this keris from a dealer who specializes in other weapons. He was not sure what he had, so he put it on eBay. Let the market decide. He did not have much invested in it.
If this was an authentic piece, it would be VERY valuable. I thought it was, and maybe a "sleeper."
I bid quite high, ($1,250) partly because I though it could be genuine and because I knew the dealer and he had a return policy IF it was not genuine. Sometimes it is very hard to tell from the pictures, but when you have it in your hands, you can often tell.
Anyhow I thought it could be genuine and very rare. Particulary all sliver. A fairly good, but common pamor on the blalde. BTW I do not post public pictures of Indonesian keris, but will email them privately if you like.
When the auction ended, another collector had bid $1,000. I won it for $1025! I was very excited until I got it. Oops! Not authentic. Too light and silver plated. A very good job, but not authentic.
So I emailed the dealer and told him of my findings. He knows that I have some knowledge of these and accepted my opinion. He offered to sell it to me for $150 "as a curio" and I accepted.
This is why I like good dealers!
