More on keris

Ivan Campos

Ivan Campos

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
Joined
Apr 4, 1999
Messages
2,499
Hello

If you remember a thread about keris we have had a while ago, at the time I got in touch with Alan Maisey and asked him for some pics of these blades.
Well, I just got an envelope with pics of some pieces he has availabile and wouldn't mind to put some in my collection, wasn't Iso short on money these days...
As I thought you would like to tale a look, here is the one I found more impressive among the lot:
 

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Thanks, Ivan. The pamor on that is gorgeous.

I've been out of keris for awhile, but the trappings on that blade look Janvanese, IIRC. Feel free to correct me on this one.

S.
 
Ivan:

Stunning looking stuff. Looks to be about 50+ yrs old, perhaps 100.

Kris Cutlery has a website where they sell great old Keris for the best price I can find on the net. Cecil Quirino lives in California, but he is Filipino, and imports keris from his homeland.

I got an old tombak (keris spearhead) from him, with matching sandalwood scabbard, for about 100 USD. 7 waves, kulit semangka pamor.

http://www.kriscutlery.com/

Very knowledgeable, nice folks, like Bill & the HI folks.

Keith
 
Cecil has been focusing more on Indo/Malay keris lately, though in his last Sandata catalog he did offer a few Filipino items. There are far more Indo/Malay items than Filipino now in his Sandata catalog, and what Filipino items there are, are from his personal collection. He makes a few trips to Indonesia every year to get stock, a while back I asked him why he was not really selling the Moro stuff anymore, and he said people were more interested in keris. He also knows Alan Maisey. There are certainly a variety of places to get good keris. Certainly Alan and Cecil are very reputable. There also is the Malay Art Gallery owned and run by Adni Aljunied http://www.geocities.com/keris4u/ who is also another very reputable dealer. Also many general antique dealers also carry some keris, such as Oriental Arms, EriksEdge, Lionsgate Arms and Armor, etc... But definitely Alan has been at it longer and probably knows more than everyone else combined.
 
Goood input, Federico. I'll have to check out the art gallery you mention. Seen the other places, check in on them from time to time. Yeah, the spearhead I got was Javanese, like many Items he has.

My big thing recently has been antique and ancient spearheads, because they are waaay cheaper than most other antique weapons.

Oh, and brand new HI khuks are right in there, too, of course. Cheaper than a sword, but more versatile and reliable. Ilike to think of my 18" AK as "a sword and an axe in a knife package."

Keith
 
Actually wish I had more info on good places to buy keris, but well they really arent my thing. The Malay Art gallery comes highly recommended on the EEWRS, and the owner posts semi-regularly there. He is a very nice guy, generous with his knowledge, but also aware of his limitations. Truly not just a dealer, but a passionate collector. Then again, another dealer once said, that one reason most collectors dont see the very best pieces, is that most dealers are collectors as well, and once they get that best piece they hang onto it. Makes me wonder what some of these dealers are hiding underneath their beds :D
 
Hey, Ivan:

How did you embed those pics in your post? It's a trick I must learn. Sorry, I'm new to the forum posting, and jsut can't figure it out.

Thanks,

Keith
 
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