Dagger

Dagger with wavy blade (9 curves), black with pronounced and clear mottled watery patterning (pamor) on both blade and guard. Bone (?) handle, slightly bent, carved in form of a demon (raksasa) with curved fangs and five long wavy locks of hair. Metal cup between blade and handle has beading top and bottom with rings of balls and triangular prongs in between. 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.