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North Java, kris and scabbard, possibly 9th–11th century, steel…
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Sydney
Date:
27-Oct-2013
Lot No.
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Description:
North Java, kris and scabbard, possibly 9th–11th century, steel blade decorated on each side in relief with three standing priest figures and a winged elephant, the scabbard of wood with a modelled ivory crosspiece; the bone hilt carved in the form of a demon, raksasa, wearing a snake for a necklace, 47 cm height overall; hilt 10 cm height. Literature: Donald Friend's Bali, Art Gallery of New South Walesand the Beagle press, Sydney, 1990, cat. 91, p. 62 (illus.). Exhibited: Donald Friend's Bali, an exhibition arranged in conjunction with the Donald Friend Retrospective, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 9 February-25 March 1990. Related works: very similar to 'Ivory kris handle in the form of squatting garuda, the mythical bird', central Java, pre-1940, ivory, 8.5 cm height, accession number 1772-661, and ivory kris hilt representing a squatting demon, Cirebon district, Java, 1800–1900, ivory, 8.7 cm height, 1800-1900, accession number 1772-437, both collection of the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam. Other Notes: in a detailed drawing of the blade and hilt attached to one of his diaries (October 1972) Donald Friend writes that the kris dated to the 9th–10th centuries and was bought to Bali in the 14th century by Gajah Mada. This hilt style is known as Java demang, elsewhere in Indonesia
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Tribal: Zother