Hilt of a dagger "keris" ·  Indonesia - Java · ID: 3037898

Description

bone, partly dark patina, in form of a half figure with zoomorphical facial features, richly carved with ornaments, min. dam., fine cracks, small missing parts, slight traces of abrasion, base;
present type of keris hilt was reserved for the caste of warriors and shows the folk hero “bima”. He is the mythological son of the god of winds “vayu”, with his long thumb nail he is able to destroy his enemies.

The object Hilt of a dagger “keris” with the object ID 3037898 was last part of the auction 79th Tribal Art Auction at March 21, 2015 on Zemanek-Münster Auction house. The object with the lot number 14 achieved a sales price of EUR 350.

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Comparing literature

van Zonneveld, Albert G., Traditional weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago, Leiden 2001, p. 67, ill. 238