Indonesia, Java: an old kris dagger with a wavy pamor blade and an extremely beautiful hilt made of ivory.
Indonesia, Java: an old kris dagger with a wavy pamor blade and an extremely beautiful hilt made of ivory.
A typical Indonesian dagger, known as a ‘kris’. With a long blade made using pamor technique (pamor = forged from many layers of iron). The blade features twelve ‘waves’. The visibly very old hilt is a special feature of this piece: it depicts the figure of a ‘Rakshasa’, a protective demon, exquisitely carved in ivory. Atop the hilt ring (‘mendak’) made of silver-plated copper, there is a smooth hemisphere made of ivory, topped with a continuous band of triangular ‘tumpal’ motifs, blended with volutes and tendrils. The ‘demon’ rises up out of additional leafy tendrils, volutes and spirals, with a long, thin, bent arm, a long, thin sticking-out tongue, a mask-like ‘overgrown’ face, an ornamented back of the head featuring three rows of very fine curls of hair etc. The amount of detail on this ivory hilt makes it a true masterpiece by a Javanese carver.
Length: 48.5 cm (the kris in total); 10.7 cm (the ivory hilt).19th century. (ME) ASA
Provenance: Austrian private collection.
Lit.: ‘Blanke Wapens uit de Gordel van Smaragd’ von J. G. Dieles, Seite ‘Krisgrepen uit Java’, Abb. 1, 4; ‘Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago’ von Albert G. van Zonnefeld, S. 67, Abb. 240.
Specialist: Erwin Melchardt
Erwin Melchardt
+43-1-515 60-465
erwin.melchardt@dorotheum.at
06.04.2017 - 15:00
- Realized price: **
-
EUR 688.-
- Starting bid:
-
EUR 400.-
Indonesia, Java: an old kris dagger with a wavy pamor blade and an extremely beautiful hilt made of ivory.
A typical Indonesian dagger, known as a ‘kris’. With a long blade made using pamor technique (pamor = forged from many layers of iron). The blade features twelve ‘waves’. The visibly very old hilt is a special feature of this piece: it depicts the figure of a ‘Rakshasa’, a protective demon, exquisitely carved in ivory. Atop the hilt ring (‘mendak’) made of silver-plated copper, there is a smooth hemisphere made of ivory, topped with a continuous band of triangular ‘tumpal’ motifs, blended with volutes and tendrils. The ‘demon’ rises up out of additional leafy tendrils, volutes and spirals, with a long, thin, bent arm, a long, thin sticking-out tongue, a mask-like ‘overgrown’ face, an ornamented back of the head featuring three rows of very fine curls of hair etc. The amount of detail on this ivory hilt makes it a true masterpiece by a Javanese carver.
Length: 48.5 cm (the kris in total); 10.7 cm (the ivory hilt).19th century. (ME) ASA
Provenance: Austrian private collection.
Lit.: ‘Blanke Wapens uit de Gordel van Smaragd’ von J. G. Dieles, Seite ‘Krisgrepen uit Java’, Abb. 1, 4; ‘Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago’ von Albert G. van Zonnefeld, S. 67, Abb. 240.
Specialist: Erwin Melchardt
Erwin Melchardt
+43-1-515 60-465
erwin.melchardt@dorotheum.at
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| Auction: | Tribal Art |
| Auction type: | Saleroom auction |
| Date: | 06.04.2017 - 15:00 |
| Location: | Vienna | Palais Dorotheum |
| Exhibition: | 01.04. - 06.04.2017 |
** Purchase price incl. buyer's premium and VAT
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