Keris info please
 

Hi to all.

A friend of mine has a Javanese keris (the one in the photos) and he would like to know some details about.

Your help would be very useful.

Thank you in advance.

Nobody out there..... :(

I'm not that familiar with Javanese kerises; wonder where the Javanese keris experts are. :)

I think this keris is a East Javanese keris. The blade is probably an older blade, with some finesse to it. The 2 groves (sogokan depan, sogokan belakang) at the base of the blade is quite nicely executed and not overly stiff. The blade, as you can see, is not completely straight, but has a slight arc to it. Pamor is from the 'wos utah' (scattered rice) family. The sheath and hilt are probably made from sandal wood. The sheath form is called sandang walikat. Quite nicely done too. Noticed that the mendak (the hilt cup) has green enamel inlay. That is quite rare.

If this is your friend's first keris, it is a very good start. Graceful piece overall.

This is a very nice straight bladed keris. Very nice dapur and a good pamor. Dapur looks to me the brodjol form with sogokan. I think the age of the blade is arround 1900, maybe a bit earlier. Always hard to tell how old a keris blade is.
The dress is very new, wich is not uncommon. Because of the climate the wooden parts of a keris where frequently replaced. The style of the sheath is walikat sandang. Mendak is a new one too. Mostly you see this mendaks in red or blue, but i suppose more collors are available.

I agree that this mendak is a new one, which makes it less rare that might be thought since they are still being made. Old ones are rare and these are called Kemalo, which simple means enamel. I have an old keris sepang with a black one.

Nice

Thanks a lot guys for the answer and the infos :)

Hmmm... if this sort of mendak is still being made today, they are certainly not finding their way to Singapore frequently enough... :D But I'll keep the comments in mind. Thanks. :)

BluErf,

A friend of mine brought last summer 10 of these mendaks for me from his holidays on Java. I hardly can imagine that it is a problem to get some to Singapore.