A Javanese Wedhung

[David]

Sid, as Alan has mentioned, dating wedhung can be very tricky since it is not a knife that has changed very much over time, though when we get further back in time to Mojopahit and Mataram we do see some differences in the profile of the blade. Again, better photos would be helpful, but no guarantee that a more accurate dating can be determined. I feel confident that yours is at least antique, but could possibly be a bit older than late 19th century.
I have attached some images of mine which probably dates back to the early years Mataram and you will notice a more elongated profile to the blade.
Alan has already addressed your questions about pamor and hierarchy. The other thing i note with yours is that it is a somewhat more simplistic form of the blade since it doesn't really present any wideng (like the greneng on a keris) at the backside of the base of the blade. I could be wrong, but i would image that more attention would be paid to this detail on wedhung intended for higher ranked court officials.