description

Iron, nickel "pamor", wood, gilt copper alloy, glass, semi-precious stones.
Sheathed 67 cm, keris 65.5 cm, blade 51 cm.
Bali, Indonesia.
Late 19th century.

Provenance

Ferdinand Blok
Aalderink Oriental Art

Literature

"Indonesie-Oceanie; Kunst uit particulier bezit". Rotterdam, Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde, 1965.

Exhibition

"Indonesie-Oceanie; Kunst uit particulier bezit". Rotterdam, Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde, 1965.

Detail Description

This antique Balinese keris of the late 19th century features a strong blade with nickel pamor and 9 waves called "luk", a number associated with perfection. The gilt hilt is in the form of Batara Bayu, God of the wind, adorned with glass and semi-precious stones.

It was collected by Ferdinand Blok, born on Java in 1884. He had a career overseeing forest management until retiring in 1931 and moving to The Hague. In 1965 he lent this keris to the Rotterdam ethnographic museum as part of an exhibit of Indonesian art in Dutch private collections. This keris was illustrated in the accompanying catalog.

This year it is shown to the public once again at PAN.