THREE EARLY KERIS. 22 
foundland, Guinea, Binney, the Amazon and the East Indies for 
all manner of rare beasts fowls and birds shells and stones.” 
On Buckingham’s death, he seems to have entered the service of the 
king and queen and probably at that date established his physic 
garden and museum_at the east side of South Lambeth Road, leading 
from Vauxhall to Stockwell, He was the first in England who 
“made any considerable collection of the subjects of natural history.” 
He died 1637-1638. The son succeeded the father as gardener to 
Queen Henrietta Maria, and was also a traveller. In 1656 resol- 
ving to take a catalogue of those rarities and curiosities which my 
father had sedulously collected’’ he published his Musewm Trades- 
cantianum. This book in its 179 pages contains lists of birds, 
shells, fishes, insects, minera!s, fruits, war instruments, habits, 
utensils, coins and medals. Among entries of other warlike 
instruments from Japan. Turkey, India, China, Canada, Virginia, 
Ginny, Persia, and Muscovy occurs the entry on page 46 of 
Poisoned creeses or Daggers, two wavel two plain’’-—ap- 
parently one of the plain has been lost. In 1659 Tradeseant and his 
wife sealed and delivered a deed of gift of this collection of rarities 
to Sir Thomas Ashmole, but his will of date 1661 bequeathed 
the ‘éolleetion to his wife for life and after her decease to the Uni- 
versities of Oxford and Cambridge ta which of them she shall think 
fit.” There was a law-suit and Ashmole got the collection © to have 
and enjoy.” In 1677 Ashmole offered it to Oxford as soon as a build- 
ing should be erected to receive it. In.1683 Wren finished a build- 
ing and the collection went to Oxford in barges’, and “‘t'e name 
of Tradescant was unjustly sunk in that of: Ashmole.” Ashmole, 
of course, was not a traveller, but Windsor herald and autho: of a 
book on the order of the Garter. 
“  Theold M.S catalogue of the Tralescant collection compile 1 ir 
1685 by Edward Lhywd, first Assistant Keeper of the Ashmo'ean 
and still preserved in the archives of the museums G)ntains entries 
of several creeses vaguely described and an attempt at exact des- 
eription of the little demi-god hilted kéris : “117 Pugio anceps in 
mucronem exit, manubrium simiae tmaginem exprinut: a double-edged, 
dagger tapering to a point,—its handle exhiliting the figure of an 
ape.” The vagina lignea or wooden scabbard has been lost. 
The official catalogue of the Ashmolean Collection of 1836 has 
the entries 
32 Two Malay creeses or daggers with waved blades. Mus. Tradese. 
33 Another with straight blade. Mus. Tradesc. 
So we have the history of these three kérzs established practi- 
eally beyond doubt back to the early yeursof the XVIth century. 
Iam indebted to Mr. E. T. Leeds, formerly of the F. M.S. Civil 
Service and now Assistant Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum for 
eallling my attention to these weapons, getting them photographed 
for me and putting the Catalogues cited at my disposal, 
R. A. Soc., No, 62, 1912. 
