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Bugis
First half of the 20th Cent. A.D.
Kris Gold, Ruby Gemstones, Iron
Length: 51 cm Width: 14.5 cm Depth: 6 cm
Blade: 31 cm
with Handle: 42.5 cm
Bugis or Makassar Type Royal Kris
The handle of a standing mustachioed warrior wearing a helmet-like headdress and elaborate jewelry is cast of solid gold. It sits on a large mendak ring inlaid with rubies. The entire sheath including the wrangka is clad in gold. On the front side this has been deeply worked with meandering flowers and foliage with a stylized image of the Garuda, a mythological half bird-half man, who is one of the heroes of the Ramayana Epic, on the wrangka. The center of the kris has a simpler ribbed pattern and the flared lower end flowers and triangles. There is an additional decoration attached to the front for binding to the clothes of the owner. Like the mendak it is encrusted with rubies. The upper back side of the sheath is plain, the lower ribbed as on the front. The iron blade is straight and has a damascene pattern. |
