Dagger

Dagger with wavy blade (5 curves), asymmetrically widening at base. Faint watery linear patterning (pamor). Hilt bone (?), tapering, very slightly bent; inner side carved with central rosette, outer side plain with rough dark rectangular hole at end. Metal ring between blade and hilt simple, with rows of beading top and bottom. One of a class of daggers called kris, defined by the widening at one side of the blade base. Kris are not only weapons but also works of art and objects of mythical, ritual, and ceremonial significance: in 2005, UNESCO gave the title “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” to the kris of Indonesia.