Relic of a Javanese kriss whith original warangka
 

Hello,

Here is a kriss I like a lot despite the ghostly state of his blade.
Lengh blade : 34cm Dapur : Cerita?
I had seen an instructive explanation of this type of warangka in Mr. Maisey's Catalog No. 74 (?). Unfortunately I made the mistake of not copying the text and I can't find this page.
The brass pendok seems to have been added later on the scabbard with a big bunch of glue, it seems to replace an old pendok or hide a wood too damaged.
The blade has a pamor but it is not determinable because covered with a layer of black wax.
The brass mendak is so damaged that it has almost disappeared.
The pretty bone handle lets guess a character under the tracery.

Any information on this type of sheath and handle is welcome. :)

Hello,

I think you are referring to a Javanese keris patrem, with a wrongko in the Wulan Tumanggal form, and a gandar with red kemalo, from catalog # 74, which now lives with me. :-)

Mr. Maisey also mentioned that "this wrongko form has not been made in Java for a very long time, according to Harsrinuksmo (Ensiklopedi Keris) it has not been made since the end of the Kartosuro era (1680-1745)."

I hope this helps.

Thanks,
Leif

The hilt is in putrasatu style from East Java, see a rather similar specimen.
Regards

Thank you for your help. ;)

The gambar tumanggal of Athanase's kris is very nice and peculiar because of the longitudinal ridge on both sides but I doubt that it dates from the Kartasura period or before....
Regards

Well, i don't think that it is too important whether or not this wrongko was made during the Mataram/Kartosuro period or not, it is still a nice example of a fairly rare Javanese keris sheath and certainly worthy of collection just for this dress alone. The hilt is also pretty nice. I agree with Jean though that it is unlikely that the dress dates back as far as the 18th century, though it would not be impossible i suppose.
The blade, however, well may. It is a pity that it has undergone so much blade erosion. If it were mine i might find a decent mendak just to return some dignity to the ensemble.

I am always hesitant to assess such a damaged blade, is it a precious but worn-out/ neglected pusaka or just worthless rubbish? In Europe the collectors tend to follow the second alternative, for instance I had little success in trying to sell these 2 very old krisses....
In the case of Athanase's kris, it is a pity that the blade be in such a poor condition indeed as it was certainly a very good piece originally. I would certainly have bought the kris just for the dress and hilt. A good way to re-use the blade would be to make a new blade partly from it for keeping its power...
Regards :)

Hi,

I have a warongko that have similarities with warongko Wulan Tumanggal but in gayaman form. Does anyone have any information about my warongko?

Thank you,

Regards,

Joe

I agree with you, for me it's unlikely that the scabbard is mid-18th century. Being reasonable I would say that it dates from the 19th century.

For the Mendak, I have several old but what are the typical forms from East Java? (to be in accordance with the handle)

Hi,

They are some mendak that I think from East Java and Madura.

Regards,

Joe

Thank you! :)

Nice mendaks collection, thank you! It seems to me that some pieces may be from Central Java but not a big deal!
Regards

I agree Jean. Here are some mendaks that were presented here a while back as East Jawa.

Hi,

If you don't mind, which of those mendak are maybe from Central Java? I upload the picture with numbers.

I still have confusion in determine mendak number 18. It looks like Jogja mendak, but I also feel like it is from East Java.

Thank you,


Best regards,

Joe

Well, my understanding of traditional East Jawa mendaks is that that they are generally plainer and not usually bejeweled.
I could be wrong, but i would place #18 as Jogyakarta. :shrug:
Of course, the bottom line for our friend Athanase here is that no one is really currently making East Madura style mendaks and antique ones will cost quite a bit so he will probably be best off settling for a more available style of Javanese mendak which will in the end still look much better that what is currently in place. :)

Joe, if you have access to the reference book "Keris Jawa" written by the late Haryono Haryoguritno, please have a look at pages 280 & 281 for viewing the various styles of mendaks from Central Java.
Regards

East Jawa/Madura mendak can look like Central Jawa mendak.

Central Jawa mendak can look like East Jawa/Madura mendak.

Solo mendak can look like Jogja mendak and vice versa.

Pesisiran mendak can look like anything at all.

Far East Jawa mendak --- like Blambangan --- can look like Bali wewer or incorporate elements of wewer design.

You need to look at the way a mendak is made to have a reasonable chance of guessing where it is from, for example, nearly all East Jawa/Madura mendak are made as a little cup, that is, no internal supporting construction. With mendak that have internal construction you need to ensure that they will fit the recess on the bottom of a hilt, or that where there is no recess, that the internal construction does not interfere with a neat seat onto the hilt base. Above all, you need to ensure that there is harmony of proportion and design, and that is not always easy.

Then, of course, we have solid cast or turned mendak, and they can be a real problem.

Personally, I have a bit of difficulty in looking at a picture of a mendak and saying it is one thing or the other, without qualification.

Here are some cast and turned mendak, some extremely old, some were excavated, and a few fine quality standard mendak for comparison.

Thank you Alan, impressive collection of old pieces!
Regards

Than you all for the explanations.

Best regards,

Joe

Hello,

Among the mendaks I had in stock, I found four that have the right dimensions.
The numbers 1 and 2 are copper and were formerly plated with silver.
Number 3 is silver and number 4 is brass.

In your opinion, which of his mendak is the best suitable with the rest of Keris?

I'm thinking 4, or perhaps 3. Others may differ. :)

Is the pendok truly brass? that is, yellow brass? Or is it mamas? an alloy like nickel silver/german silver/white brass.

If mamas, use #3, if yellow brass, use #4.

Hi,

From the pictures, I prefer no. 4. In my opinion, mendak no. 4 is the most fit with the deder.


Best regards,

Joe

So, the most suitable mendak is the n°4 (the pendok is yellow brass, but pale yellow).
Thank you all for your opinion. ;)

Athanase, have you polished the pendok with a good metal polish?

Unpolished mamas often has a yellowish tint, polished it looks like silver, and in fact a number of unscrupulous dealers will present it as "native silver".

Pendoks should be polished, not left with so-called patina intact. A keris is an item of dress, or a weapon, as well as many other things, and in all cases the pendok should be polished.

Keris should always be presented in the best possible condition, not to do so is culturally incorrect and in certain circumstances can be very offensive to some people.

If this kris was mine I will not only polish the pendok but improve the joint with the gandar at the top and try to reduce the dents & creases with a sunglon (bronze or hard wood piece inserted inside the pendok). Thank you Alan for the corrections.
Regards :)

an error

I spent part of the pendok soaking in citric acid during a whole afternoon, after rinsing well, rubbing with a cloth and then drying the color is indeed much more silvery but still with a touch of yellow.
At one place there was a black oxide crust which has now become the same color as pure copper. :confused:



The wood is stuck inside the pendok so it is not possible to correct the many bumps of the metal. :shrug:

It doesn't sound like you have actually tried metal polish.

I've said hello to a lot of pendoks, very large number of pendoks, so many I've forgotten their names.

A lot of these pendoks were like stubborn women, but I can truthfully say that I have never met one pendok that did not open up for me after the gentle application of a little heat.

An LPG blow torch is good, provided you can be delicate, an LPG camp stove is safer and probably more gentle, but whatever the adhesive is that is holding that pendok, it will let go if heated. It is a good idea to use industrial rubber gloves to grip the pendok as you gently, but forcefully persuade it to let go.

If the gandar breaks or lets go of the wrongko first, its no big deal, you just fix it, everything about a keris can be fixed.

In respect of polishing, the stuff that is used to polish mag wheels is good, use it along with fine steel wool, polish with a light coloured cloth, when there is no more black on the cloth it will be as good as you can get it.