Keris: Power & Identity

Hardback, 228 pages
9789832591238

This catalogue highlights almost 100 keris from the rich collection of His Royal Highness Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Alhaj, the Sultan of Selangor, and the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia.

The fully descriptive and illustrative catalogue takes readers on a journey of the history of the keris to appreciate the finest craftsmanship on the keris with its elaborate decorations of gold, silver and gemstones as well as in the art of metallurgy and how it became a cultural symbol in the Malay World. The grandiosity of the exquisite keris will be seen through the distinctive shapes, styles and decorative elements of keris with its the regional variation as well its affiliation with the royals in this region.

The catalogue illustrates Islamic elements such as inscriptions, calligraphic motifs as well the adaptation of symbolism from the pre-Islamic era to the Islamic era found on the revered dagger.