[A. G. Maisey]

In the museum section of the Mangkunegaraan in Solo there is a case with perhaps 6 or 8 of this type of dagger along with some other very fine weapons. You cannot photograph them, and you can only enter this section of the Mangkunegaraan with a guide in close attendance, I mean at your elbow the entire time. None of these daggers have hilts that look like the one in post #9, the usage shown in post #9 is neither fish nor fowl, it is a dagger type that is found in the Mangkunegaraan, but it is fitted with a Madurese keris hilt, altered to make a pleasing ensemble for a European.

The Central Javanese rulers were not above a bit of mixing and matching if they were trying to create a prestigious gift. This hilt no more belongs on a Central Javanese piece than wings belong on pigs, but the attitude was, and is:- whites don't know anything, so give them what they want, and we know they like nicely carved ivory. This hilt is a keris hilt and is incorrect for this type of dagger, but that doesn't matter:- it was prepared for a European, the objective was to please the white man, not to prepare something that was culturally correct.

The example prepared by the Mangkunegara as a gift for a European is no more an authentic Madurese usage than are the seluts of remarkably poor quality that are in the previous photos, but it is of very much higher quality. The Mangkunegara is the minor prince of Surakarta.

Attached are a couple of pics of Madura hilts with seluts. One is from a similar dagger to the one shown in post #9, one is from a pedang; one was prepared for sale pre-WWII, one was prepared for sale in the 1970's; both came from the same source. Both were fitted to the weapons in Central Jawa, specifically for sale to tourists.

Mixing and matching was not limited to shonks working out of Central Javanese markets, nor to forgers in Singapore and Jakarta, nor to UK arms dealers in Birmingham. It was and is very widespread.