Is this a tourist trap or a real deal?

[Green]

I know nothing about this type of keris with 'gold' decoration and most that I saw have been told to be of low quality touristy items.

Yet, I kind of attracted to this particular one. The bling is very understated and the hilt looks like it is made of a good material but what is it?

The pamor also looks fine to my still untrained eyes ( despite a few years looking at keris now).

Would love to know opinions on this keris . It went for a relatively low price on ebay last night... congrats to the winner (not me).

[David]

Well Green, i don't really know what you mean by tourist trap. This is a modern era art keris that dies seem to have at least some good craft applied. As such it is very collectable if that is within the realm of keris that one chooses to collect. But i don't know of any accepted dhapur that combines both the singo and naga motifs in a single blade so i don't see this keris as having any practical place within the social structure of Javanese keris culture, nor does the dress seem right for anything other than display.
I am not sure what the hilt material is exactly. The spot at the top looks mineralized making me wonder if this is some kind of partly fossilized ivory, but i don't really know.

[Paul B.]

Agree with David. The hanlde is not a good match: a Yoygja model fitted on top of a Solo kris.

[A. G. Maisey]

Yes, the blade is current era, nice quality, and would be totally acceptable as the blade used in a Javanese dress keris used by a person who was not involved in kraton or elite level society activities.

Yes, recognised dhapurs and relevant iconography can have a part in places where these things are understood, but Central Javanese dress is almost a national standard now in Indonesia, so you will find people in Jakarta and Surabaya, and even Bali,wearing a keris as a part of formal dress that does not really relate to Central Javanese kraton standards.

The incorrectly matched hilt is possibly the result of an ill informed dealer attempting to create an attractive and saleable item, but it could equally be the result of somebody who knows no better trying to be a bit blingy.

In any case, it cannot be thought of as one those rather mythical Tourist Keris.

[Jean]

Quite a nice kris indeed in spite of the mixing of the elements, from the pics the hilt seems to be made from walrus ivory (typical "marble" appearance inside).
Regards

[mariusgmioc]

Originally Posted by Jean

Quite a nice kris indeed in spite of the mixing of the elements, from the pics the hilt seems to be made from walrus ivory (typical "marble" appearance inside).
Regards

While I cannot say anything about the kris itself, the hilt doesn't look marbled like walrus ivory to me. In my oppinion it is plain bone, displaying the usual porous structure.

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Yes, the blade is current era, nice quality, and would be totally acceptable as the blade used in a Javanese dress keris used by a person who was not involved in kraton or elite level society activities.

Yes, recognised dhapurs and relevant iconography can have a part in places where these things are understood, but Central Javanese dress is almost a national standard now in Indonesia, so you will find people in Jakarta and Surabaya, and even Bali,wearing a keris as a part of formal dress that does not really relate to Central Javanese kraton standards.

Perhaps you can clarify a few things for me Alan and take this into a area i don't believe we have had much discussion about. Yes, i was being a bit of a sticker for tradition in my comments. I do take you word that this keris, if dressed differently, would be acceptable as a Javanese dress keris for those in common society. Anyway, as a dress keris one would not be all that likely to be showing off the details of the blade in public anyway. But i would like to further address this mixing of iconography. We have certainly moved into an era in modern keris making were anything goes when it comes to keris design. Many of these more fanciful new creations can get a bit over the top and it is difficult to see them as anything other than artist interpretations of keris rather than keris themselves. An edit does seem that many of these new keris makers take the position that more is better. More features, more elements, no matter where they might be drawn from. This one is a bit more subdued however and done rather tastefully IMO. But i find myself questioning this mixing of naga and singo on the same blade. We have never really fully discussed (as far as i can recall) the cultural significance of these two symbolic creatures when applied to to keris. Well, i guess that's not completely true, as there has been much discussion of the naga for sure, but not so much the singo as it relates to placement on the keris. But what hasn't really been talked about much though is who such keris (naga or singo) would be particularly suited for. Yes, we live in an era where anyone with the money can own anything they please, but what was the original intention here. Who in proper keris society would a naga keris be best suited for and who in that society would a singo keris be suited for. I don't imagine it would be just anybody and i'm not sure that both would be suited for the same person. So i am curious about your take on the purpose of both these iconic creatures when placed upon a keris blade, what meaning and purpose they were meant to serve and whether one can make any sense and purpose out of having both on a blade at the same time regardless of whether or not there is any pakem to back up such a choice.

[Roland_M]

I think the hilt is made from fossil walrus ivory and in my opinion it is relative poorly made for Javanese standards.

I found something remarkable on the Wranka. The Wranka seems too short for the blade, so the bottom of the Wranka was cut off and the point of the blade lies free. To hide this, they made a new elongated Pendok.
In my opinion the Wranka was not made for this Keris and is probably older than the blade.


Roland

[David]

Originally Posted by Roland_M

I think the hilt is made from fossil walrus ivory and in my opinion it is relative poorly made for Javanese standards.

I found something remarkable on the Wranka. The Wranka seems too short for the blade, so the bottom of the Wranka was cut off and the point of the blade lies free. To hide this, they made a new elongated Pendok.
In my opinion the Wranka was not made for this Keris and is probably older than the blade.

Fossilized ivory of some sort is indeed a possible material Roland.
I am afraid i do not see any exposed blade at the tip of the sheath though. I do see different colored wood and what it looks like to me is that this is not this is not the original pendok for this gandar and there is now some exposed wood that was once covered by a different pendok. The gandar would probably be the easiest part of a sheath to replace if indeed the blade was too long for the original one so i can't image that someone would do a fix like you have suggested when they could simply add a longer gandar onto the sheath. The problem here seems to be that this pendok is too long and so will not slide up far enough to cover this part of the gandar.