[A. G. Maisey]

There is no doubt that Javanese blades were exported all over the trade routes of South East Asia, and seemingly, even into the Indian sub-continent.

In The Book of Duarte Barbosa (1500's):- "In these ships the Jaos (ie, Javanese) bring hither great store of rice, beef, sheep,swine, deer, "salt meat",fowls, garlic and onions and also bring for sale many weapons, spears, "daggers", short swords, all finely worked and damascened on fine steel ,also cubebs and a yellow dye called cazuba, and many other small articles."

Barbosa wrote this relevant to trade into the port of Malacca.

Certainly Javanese blades were exported to Sumatra, and many other places , from a very early date, however local production also took place in the areas to which Javanese blades were exported, possibly using the Javanese blades as models.

Sultan Agung (Jawa, 17th century) established relations with the Jambi Sultanate, and Jambi and Mataram were allies. Additionally, during the 17th century there was close intermarriage between the Cirebon and Mataram courts. Cirebon motifs and styles evidence some Chinese influence, which in turn appears in Mataram works, and then in Palembang.

The famous pusaka keris Si Ginjei, of the Jambi Sultanate is a Mataram style keris, supposedly produced by Empu Kinom (Supo Anom), upon the order of Sultan Agung Anyokrokusumo (17th. century Jawa), and given to the Sultan of Jambi as a token of friendship.

I have seen, and I own, other keris from this area which stylistically are Mataram, but with minor differences in pawakan and material which would seem to indicate local manufacture in South Sumatra, rather than in Central Jawa.

My observations seem to indicate that high quality keris from the Palembang area reflect the Javanese style of any particular era, so that Mataram style is reflected in Palembang keris of the Mataram era, and Surakarta style is reflected in Palembang keris of the Surakarta era. I cannot say if this is an overall consistent influence, but instances of it have been observed.

Insufficient research has been carried out in this specific area of keris study to be too definite about the extent of influence exercised by Javanese blade styles upon locally manufactured blades in South Sumatra, however, we can be certain that such influence did exist, just as influence of other blade styles, such as Bugis , exists in the same area.

Incidentally, Jambi, and Palembang were separate entities, but old keris dress from both places is stylistically similar, and I would hestitate to differentiate one from the other.

What we can also be certain of is that nothing is certain, when we start to make guesses about keris.