Keris Hilt The statue has been carved from a piece of wood, and rubbed or painted with a black paint. Details of the seat have been picked out in yellow gold. By Paul Duffy and Wazeem Johnston
Indonesian archipelago
T
his is a small statue of a chubby male figure sitting on a Tumpal Throne, he is smiling, looks peaceful, in a relaxed position with his right arm behind his back holding his left elbow. He is holding something in his right hand. The “tumpal” motif is the triangular motif you can see around the throne. It is an ancient and very important motif in Archipelago culture. This relates to the Hindu concept of “three”, everything comes in threes. The statue has been carved from a piece of wood, and rubbed or painted with a black paint. Details of the seat have been picked out in yellow gold. This was probably an ebonised figure sitting on a yellow throne and with the “stones” in the selut painted red, these three colours (yellow, black and red) represent the Hindu Trinity. This statue is the hilt of a keris, probably from Bali or Lombok. The hilt was on a keris from an old, local collection. The fellow had been collecting over 30 years and this keris and other edged weapons had been hanging on the wall for a long time. The keris blade was not of great interest. However, this hilt has been well made. The carving of the hilt, arms, legs and body have been well conceived and executed. When I pick up the statute, as a hilt, with the head in the palm of my right hand, it sits comfortably. I have to remember that a keris is a weapon, and an item of dress in Bali.
36
I have illustrated another hilt. A small statue of a nude boy with a smiling, cheerful face. This is made of ivory. The seat the boy is sitting on is also probably a Tumpal Throne, although the position of the arms is different. This hilt is illustrated in The Beauty of Kris Hilt, from The Collection of Aswin Wirjadi.
ARMS CAVALCADE 2020
AC2020_036-37 Keris Hilt - Paul Duffy and Wazeem Johnstonl.indd 36
29/08/2020 3:35:52 PM
