Origin of my "mystery keris"

[Greybeard]

Originally Posted by Greybeard

Hi all,

Some time ago I got a rather interesting keris from Malaysia (Sarawak). According to the seller this keris was made in the WW II era -- and it was allegedly used as an "execution knife"!

The keris has 13 pronounced luk. Some of its basic features resemble Sengkelat or Parungsari. It has a rather broad, heavy, thick blade and deep sogokan. Greneng and jenggot are very sharp and distinct. The central ridge is similar to a Naga`s body (simply made, nothing fancy; bordered by deep grooves). There is no visible pamor (I see one or two very faint lines, but I cannot tell whether these might be some hint of pamor).

The keris appears to be well made and very sturdy, functional like a tool (or a weapon, of course). It has apparently seen a lot of hard use as it is well worn. The blade is freckled with small shallow corrosion pits, and the edges show light uniform erosion.

The hilt (large planar type) and the sheath (gayaman type; plain brass pendok) appear quite Javanese in style; simple but of good quality.

When I got the keris it showed much neglect with the whole blade being rust-brown and dirty. When removing the hilt, I found some completely rotten material wrapped around the rusty pesi! I thoroughly cleaned the blade from all rust and dirt; now it shows lightly pitted grey metal and -- as mentioned -- no pamor.

While I do not at all believe the "execution knife story", I really wonder whether some kerises might have seen service during World War II in Malaya and/or Borneo (e.g. as some sort of "partisan" weapon ... ).


Best regards,

Greybeard

Last year I started above thread. Now I can provide some pictures. Any idea where this blade might come from? Some of its carved features remind me of Bali/Lombok. The ada-ada seems quite unusual to me; the condition is rough with ragged edges. The blade is thick and heavy. Length without pesi: 40 cm.

Regards,

Heinz

[Gustav]

Actually the cenral ridge IS pamor, also the line on gonjo (possibly ).

A pitty the proportions in the pics are distorted (?).

Is this keris Madurese or East-Javanese? What are the similarities, what the differences? I have never heard something substantial about East Javanese keris.

Are the rust holes over the entire blade, also the difference of the edge at sorsoran and elsewhere suspicious?

[PenangsangII]

I think I can understand why this keris is thought to be tangguh east Jawa (Blambangan), and why it is also thought from Madura. The pamor and the luk rengkol suggest this 2 area. maybe some more knowledgeables out there can enlighten us further. I got a feeling this keris could be from around the border between Central and East of Java - around Jipang area.

[Greybeard]

Hello Gustav, Penangsang,

Thank you for your inputs. Sorry for the distorted pictures. This happened by scaling down the images; the original photos are far too large. In reality the blade is a bit more elongated and a bit less wavy, although the luk are indeed of the rengkol type.

If the ada-ada is pamor, might it be some sort of Sodo saler then?

Madura or East Java -- could this keris be recent and artificially aged by acid? This was my first thought when this keris arrived one year ago: The rust pitting is regularly distributed over the entire blade, and the edge corrosion appears too extreme to be "natural" -- yes, the corrosion seems suspicious to me!

Regards,

Heinz

[kulbuntet]

I think its a good one. Genuine and not realy suspicious, maybe it have been etched. But i have seen much worse on some old blades(seen below). Yours is Dapur Senkelat? Iff you dont want it anny more...I can PM you my adres..

[Greybeard]

Hello Kulbuntet,

Thank you. I was never really sure about the authenticity, the origin, and the age of this blade, but I've always liked it. I would just like to learn a little bit about it, and I think I'll keep it for awhile. Its dapur might be Parungsari (has two lambe gajah).

Regards,

Heinz