Object size: 41.4 x 8.5 x 3.0 cm
This is a Madurese-style keris which showcases unusual departures from the style and aesthetic of a conventional keris. This is evidenced from the keris' hilt, which dispenses with a keris' usual anthropomorphic and decorative convention and is instead carved in the shape of what appears to be a Dutch official or soldier, as distinguished by the figure's uniform and headgear. At the same time, there are traits of a Javanese, or broadly Indonesian, influence; firstly, the figure is seen to be wearing a pair of sumping, or wing-shaped accessories behind each ear, which are traditionally worn by performers or dancers of Javanese dances instead. Secondly, the cross-piece of the scabbard has been carved with Javanese pegon script. Innovations in keris-making such as this are part of a longer legacy in the transformations of the keris and Malay material culture, owing to religious, cultural and political shifts in the region.
