Dagger handle

Indonesia (Bali or Eastern Java)

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 247

This kris hilt depicts Batara Bayu, the Hindu deity Bhima's spiritual mentor, an auspicious motif for a dagger, as one of his roles is to ward off evil and offer protection to the keeper of the weapon. Dressed in sumptuously detailed textiles, he holds a kris dagger and is seated on a rocky foliate landscape, enriched with precious stones and inset with elliptical pieces of rock crystal.

Dagger handle, Engraved and chased sheet gold, inset with semiprecious stones and rock crystal, over wood, Indonesia (Bali or Eastern Java)

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Dagger handle, Engraved and chased sheet gold, inset with semiprecious stones and rock crystal, over wood, Indonesia (Bali or Eastern Java)
Dagger handle, Engraved and chased sheet gold, inset with semiprecious stones and rock crystal, over wood, Indonesia (Bali or Eastern Java)

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