Thoughts on Madura Kris

[G. Mansfield]

I received in this Madura Kris recently. I am guessing it dates from the late 19th to early 20th century, not entirely old. It has an intricately carved donoriko ivory hilt with a rich dark orange patina. Carved with floral and lotus motifs. On the inside is a horse spreading its wings characterized by a massive upper section. I am assuming the legendary winged horse Jaran Semberani, also known as Kuda Panoleh, which was the emblem of the Madurese Sultan of Sumenep. The reverse outside section may be an 8 spoked cakra. It has a brass mendak with beaded edges holding four red (ruby?) and four white (diamond?) stones. I am unsure if the stones are glass or semi-precious, but they do look old and have a rough cut to them.
The blade is double- edged iron- nickel with high contrast pamor wavy blade and looks to be 13 luk.

The sheath is not the original sheath as it does not fit but was included in the sale. It is of a polished exotic wood, possibly a burl teak(?), with a white metal pendok. The front is extensively chased in birds, foliage and numerous designs.

The question that I have is, the blade does not show much age to it, is it a newer blade or original to the dress? Cleaned? It does seem to be a good quality blade but does not have the patina like other kris daggers that I own. However, the other kris daggers that I have are much older. What are your thoughts on the blade in relation to the rest? As the sheath does not fit properly, is the sheath in Madura style or East Jawa? Could the sheath have been for the original blade or has it been changed at some point? I would like to hear your thoughts and anything else that you can tell me about this piece.

-Geoffrey

[G. Mansfield]

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