An Absolutely Stunning & Beautiful Carved Sea Ivory Royal Hilted Keris From Palembang, Sumatra 18th Century, Meteorite Blade. A Near Pair To An Example In The Royal Collection Presented To King George IVth in 1817, When He Was The Prince Regent

Masterpiece 18th-19th c. Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia.
A Kris (keris) dagger with a hilt in very finely carved sea ivory. This is a wonderful example of a type embraced throughout Indonesia and Malaysia known for its distinct shape that blends sharp edges, planes sometimes covered with magnificent floral motifs and scrollwork as we see in this example and at the same time dramatic curves. This example also boasts some shiny sections that are characteristic of the type in Palembang, once the capital of the Srivijaya Empire, a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that flourished from the 7th to the 12th century and stretched from Sumatra to the Kra Isthmus in southern Thailand.

Ivory handle depicts a stylised, squatting human figure known as Cipaduik with one arm folded across the chest, diamond-shaped eyes and a jutting nose that dominates the mouthless face. Cipaduik features in many Minangkabau stories as a man who likes to play tricks on people.

See in the gallery a near pair to ours in the British Royal Collection, presented in 1817 to the Prince Regent.
A traditional dagger (kris) and sheath; of the highest royal rank, the straight two-edged blade of watered steel with a gold ('Mendok') attaching it to the sea ivory hilt heavily carved in as a humanoid 'Jawa demam' figure; the gold 'ganja' at blade shoulder; with a gilt wood scabbard with a wooden upper end.
Provenance
Presented to George IV when Prince Regent by Stamford Raffles, 10 May 1817. Recorded in the North Corridor Inventory of Windsor Castle with the note 'A Malayan kris - the manufacture of Sumatra'. Raffles served as Lieutenant-Governor of Java from 1811-1816 and presented the Prince Regent with several kris on his return to England.

Code: 24725