Ivory hilted keris for discussion and id please

chiefheadknocker · 18th November 2018, 12:02 PM

Hi all , I picked this keris up this morning at a local antique fair , I believe the hilt is ivory , as you can see its been nicely carved but sadly has a crack through it which has been badly glued back , any information regarding age and origin would be gladly accepted .
Thanks

Jean · 18th November 2018, 02:04 PM

Hello,
The ivory hilt is in donoriko style from Madura and probably about 100 years old. The scabbard is in Solo (Central Java) style, and the blade looks Javanese.
Regards

chiefheadknocker · 18th November 2018, 04:12 PM

Hi jean thanks for your reply , im a real novice in this area , would you say that the hilt is original to the blade and scabbard also there are gem stones of some type attached ,are this precious stones or just coloured glass maybe ?

GIO · 18th November 2018, 04:58 PM

The stones attached to the metal cup (called MENDAK) are most probably made of glass. At the best low quality natural stones.
The blade is very well preserved. I would estimate that it has much less than 100 years, but Jean is more experienced and knowledgeable than I.
Nice keris b.t.w.

chiefheadknocker · 18th November 2018, 06:10 PM

Hi gio , thanks for your info , the blade does look well preserved but when I first pulled it out its scabbard the blade was covered in what looked like a type of grease that had set almost hard i expect this has stopped it rusting over the years
Thanks

A. G. Maisey · 18th November 2018, 08:20 PM

Jean, I'm going to vary a little in my opinion of this keris.

I will reserve comment on the hilt.

The blade is not Javanese, it is Madura, the tells are the kembang kacang, the relatively long point, the greneng, the way in which the material has been handled, the pawakan. It is fairly recent, I think possibly 1980's, but it could be +/- 1900 - 1940. Not any older, unlikely to be any younger. Yes, stylistically it is reminiscent of a Javanese blade, but it is not of Javanese manufacture.

The wrongko is certainly Solo in overall form, but this form has now become more or less the Indonesian national form, I believe this wrongko was made in East Jawa, probably Surabaya, the pendok is from the same area.

As to the question of "originality" , this is a concept that is really only of any importance to collectors in the western world. For keris, and especially keris in Javanese society, it is completely irrelevant. It is nice if we can have a keris where the blade fits well to the top part (gambar) of the scabbard (warongko), but even that does not guarantee that the warongko (wrongko) was made specifically for that keris. Then there is the fact that many keris, particularly high quality keris, highly regarded keris will have a number of wrongkos, each to fit a particular purpose, and along with those wrongkos, hilts (jejeran, ukiran) to accompany the various wrongkos. We need to understand the way in which to think about this situation. In the Javanese mind, only the blade is the keris, only the blade encapsulates the masculine element. The scabbard has a feminine nature, the hilt has a guardian nature, neither male nor female, but both. Just as a man has a number of women, so the keris can have a number of scabbards, and some of those scabbards may have previously belonged to a different keris, just as a beautiful or intelligent woman may have previously belonged to a different man.

We cannot think about keris in a similar way to the way in which we think about other weapons.

18th November 2018, 12:02 PM	#1
chiefheadknocker Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 143	Ivory hilted keris for discussion and id please Hi all , I picked this keris up this morning at a local antique fair , I believe the hilt is ivory , as you can see its been nicely carved but sadly has a crack through it which has been badly glued back , any information regarding age and origin would be gladly accepted . Thanks Attached Images

18th November 2018, 02:04 PM	#2
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	Hello, The ivory hilt is in donoriko style from Madura and probably about 100 years old. The scabbard is in Solo (Central Java) style, and the blade looks Javanese. Regards

18th November 2018, 04:12 PM	#3
chiefheadknocker Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 143	Hi jean thanks for your reply , im a real novice in this area , would you say that the hilt is original to the blade and scabbard also there are gem stones of some type attached ,are this precious stones or just coloured glass maybe ?

18th November 2018, 04:58 PM	#4
GIO Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 313	The stones attached to the metal cup (called MENDAK) are most probably made of glass. At the best low quality natural stones. The blade is very well preserved. I would estimate that it has much less than 100 years, but Jean is more experienced and knowledgeable than I. Nice keris b.t.w.

18th November 2018, 06:10 PM	#5
chiefheadknocker Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 143	Hi gio , thanks for your info , the blade does look well preserved but when I first pulled it out its scabbard the blade was covered in what looked like a type of grease that had set almost hard i expect this has stopped it rusting over the years Thanks

18th November 2018, 08:20 PM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,889	Jean, I'm going to vary a little in my opinion of this keris. I will reserve comment on the hilt. The blade is not Javanese, it is Madura, the tells are the kembang kacang, the relatively long point, the greneng, the way in which the material has been handled, the pawakan. It is fairly recent, I think possibly 1980's, but it could be +/- 1900 - 1940. Not any older, unlikely to be any younger. Yes, stylistically it is reminiscent of a Javanese blade, but it is not of Javanese manufacture. The wrongko is certainly Solo in overall form, but this form has now become more or less the Indonesian national form, I believe this wrongko was made in East Jawa, probably Surabaya, the pendok is from the same area. As to the question of "originality" , this is a concept that is really only of any importance to collectors in the western world. For keris, and especially keris in Javanese society, it is completely irrelevant. It is nice if we can have a keris where the blade fits well to the top part (gambar) of the scabbard (warongko), but even that does not guarantee that the warongko (wrongko) was made specifically for that keris. Then there is the fact that many keris, particularly high quality keris, highly regarded keris will have a number of wrongkos, each to fit a particular purpose, and along with those wrongkos, hilts (jejeran, ukiran) to accompany the various wrongkos. We need to understand the way in which to think about this situation. In the Javanese mind, only the blade is the keris, only the blade encapsulates the masculine element. The scabbard has a feminine nature, the hilt has a guardian nature, neither male nor female, but both. Just as a man has a number of women, so the keris can have a number of scabbards, and some of those scabbards may have previously belonged to a different keris, just as a beautiful or intelligent woman may have previously belonged to a different man. We cannot think about keris in a similar way to the way in which we think about other weapons.