Sword

Dagger with wavy blade (three curves), median ridge both sides. Bent, polished Javanese style dark wood handle ("young shoot in tree trunk"), with two carvings on inner side, possibly the stylized representations of masks or monster (kala) faces. May have been collected in Zamboanga. 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.