Kriss Knife - Java Island, Indonesia - 19th century

Kriss knife
Java Island, Indonesia
19th century
Wood, pamor, brass, gold
Long. total: 42.5; long. blade: 33.5 cm

Handle (ukiran), in slightly bent wood, finely carved with leafy motifs, representing a divinity.
Brass ring (mendak).
Flamboyant double-edged pamor blade, engraved with flowers and zoomorphic figures enhanced with gold.
Upper part of the scabbard (wrangka), in light wood.
Section constituting the body of the wooden scabbard (gandar).

The kris is a purely masculine weapon. A social and wealth marker, it was also the object symbolically offered to a young boy who became a man.
The more elaborate the blade was worked and the more noble the handle was made of, the higher the rank of its owner.
The ukiran, almost systematically sculpted in an anthropomorphic manner, is considered an allegory of its owner. Thus, the head would be the handle, the body, the blade and the clothing, the scabbard. Note that the traditional clothing of the Balinese man is the sarong – the same name given to the scabbard of the kriss.
The kriss, endowed with magical powers, is considered a vector of spirituality. It is transmitted through inheritance, which allows it to increase its power.

Ref.: 5355

Text and photos © FCP CORIDON