Resource Spotlight | “Charles Knaud’s Keris: The Oldest Dated Keris in the World” by David van Duuren

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The Knaud Keris, iron, bronze and copper, Eastern Java, 14th century. R. Knaud Collection. Photograph by Irene de Groot, 2021.

Charles Knaud’s Keris

The Oldest Dated Keris in the World

by David van Duuren

Published by C. Zwartenkot Art Books.

After more than 100 years, a long-lost keris resurfaced in the Netherlands: the legendary "Knaud kris". In literature, this item was named after Charles Knaud, who acquired it at the end of the 19th century as a gift from a Javanese ruler. This extra-ordinary keris won an award during an art and craft exhibition held at Batavia (1884), was cast in plaster by the museum of the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences, and discussed by the renowned Indologist dr. N.J. Krom, Head of the Archaeological Service in the Dutch East Indies, in his standard work (1920) on the art of ancient Java. The Knaud keris is now on display at the Amsterdam Tropenmuseum, where it is kept on a long-term loan.

This publication is the first to present the historico-cultural uniqueness of this keris along with its adornments and date. It is comprehensively dealt with beginning with its anecdotal acquisition by C. Knaud on Java up to its discovery in the vault of a Dutch bank. The rich symbolism and mythological scenes are discussed in detail, as is the laboratory research into the metal and metal alloy utilized when forging the blade. An analysis confirms N.J. Krom's presumption it is not only a very special artifact created in East Java during the 14th century but also that, considering its history and style, it must be linked to the temple site of Panataran which dates from the Majapahit era.

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Source: N.J. Krom, Inleiding tot de Hindoe-Javaansche Kunst, 1920. Vol. 2, Plate 100. Anonymous photograph taken at the Museum of the Batavian Society (Batavia) in 1884.

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A warrior wielding a dagger that shows a striking resemblance to the Knaud keris. We see here the very first depiction of an underhand weapon on an Indo-Javanese temple relief. Candi Panataran, East Java, mid-14th century. Photo: Documentation Centre for Ancient Indonesian Art, Amsterdam.

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Left: This portrait (1863) of Charles Knaud was placed in a gold medallion (with gold chain) which he presented to his mother on her 42nd birthday. Courtesy of Moesson Magazine.

Right: Paku Alam V in military dress. Photograph published ca. 1900. Courtesy of KITLV - Leiden. KITLV A443. Photographer unknown.

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Scene of a blacksmith’s drop. In the left part of this three-paneled relief, we see a blacksmith (Bima?) dressed in royal attire while forging a keris with his bare hands. On the right, in front of the fire, an assistant utilizes a bellows. In between them, the elephant-headed Ganesha, the Hindu deity who removes all obstacles, is portrayed dancing. He has donned an ascetic’s headdress holds in his hands an animal that seems to have been set alight. This scene may possibly depict a spiritual transformation.

Candi Sukuh, the shrine built on the slopes of a volcano named Lawu, East Java, 15th century.

Dimensions: 162.5 x 218.5 cm.

Photo: Documentation Centre for Ancient Indonesian Art, Amsterdam.

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A warrior wielding a dagger that shows a striking resemblance to the Knaud keris. We see here the very first depiction of an underhand weapon on an Indo-Javanese temple relief. Candi Panataran, East Java, mid-14th century. Photo: Documentation Centre for Ancient Indonesian Art, Amsterdam.

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The Knaud Keris, iron, bronze and copper. East Java, 14th century, detail. R. Knaud Collection. Photograph by Irene de Groot, 2021.

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The Knaud Keris, iron, bronze and copper. East Java, 14th century, detail. R. Knaud Collection. Photograph by Irene de Groot, 2021.

David van Duuren was curator of Historical collections and Oceania at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam. He has published on the history of collections and is author of The Kris, an earthly approach to a cosmic symbol (1998), Krisses, a critical bibliography (2002), Physical Anthropology reconsidered (2007), Curiosities from the Pacific Ocean. A remarkable discovery in the Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam: thirteen ethnographic objects from the Bruny d”Entrecasteaux expedition. (1791-1794) (2007, with Tristan Mostert), The Javanese Kris (2009, Ed.) and Oceania at the Tropenmuseum (2011).

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. Art of the Ancestors does not receive a commission should any of our readers purchase the aforementioned book. Art of the Ancestors is a strictly non-commercial educational platform and has no vested interest in the professional activities of the author listed above.