A MAGNIFICENT PRINCELY KERIS WITH IVORY AND PRECIOUS WOOD SARONG AND GOLD APPLICATIONS

Description:

Indonesia, Bali, the blade 17th - 18th c., the mounting late 19th / early 20th c.
L. 70 cm
The scabbard on the blade sheath (gandar) and on the mouthpiece (ladrang) with applications of embossed sheet gold. Set with oval and round cabochon stones of impure ruby. Figural gold handle in the shape of a demon (partly interpreted as the wind god Bhayu or the god of war Bima), with tantric-vajrayanistic attributes. The handle is set with cabochons in black, white and red, in accordance with the Hindu trinity. Crises of this type were reserved for the nobility and date back to the East Javanese aristocracy of the Majapahit Empire (14th, 15th century). Complete, unified ensemble.
From an old German private collection, assembled since the 1950s - The EU trade certificate for the sale of this lot is available - Minor traces of age
Lit.:Ramseyer, U.(1977): Bali. Leben in zwei Welten. Zürich - IFICAH (2015): Götter-Schmiede. Balinesische Zeremonialklingen im kulturellen Kontext. Wohlesbostel