Dagger

Dagger with wavy blade (7 curves), asymmetrically widening at one side of the base. Indistinct watery patterning (pamor). Hilt of polished dark brown wood, carved to represent a figure, head bent forward and hands on knees, seated on a round stool decorated with scrolls in triangular areas (tumpal). Carved necklace, bracelets and ankle bands. An ancestor figure or garuda? Ring between blade and hilt is of metal with incised diagonal lines. 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.