warangka for identification

A. G. Maisey · 18th December 2018, 09:48 PM

David, what you have shown in this image I would call "typically Palembang" I wouldn't even think twice, or go looking for other possibilities, to me, this is Palembang.

However, when we begin to talk about blades, I need to think more than twice.

What I know is this:-

1) Palembang made keris blades vary across a wide range of styles; there is no uniquely Palembang style of blade.

2) Many Palembang keris used and use blades that originated in other localities.

3) Palembang was/is all about trade, people from all over the region moved and move in and out all the time

4) Javanese style blades that are larger than the Javanese blades that are customary in Central Jawa and East Jawa can usually be associated with North Coast and West Jawa, or with Lombok.

5) A gentle curve in the face of a gandhik is usually associated with West Jawa

6) A "brick laying down " (boto rubuh, elongated horizontally) blumbangan is associated with West Jawa and in a lesser degree, North Coast Jawa

7) The top of a gonjo needs to be able to conform to the type of dress that is common in the location where the keris was made, or where the gonjo was replaced

8) Overall blade style tends to be more or less related in any geographic location

9) Style and execution of detail in a blade can and does vary according to individual makers, variation is greatest at lower levels of quality.

The above are things I know to be true. I'm not guessing, I'm not floating possibilities. These things are things that I have been taught to be matters of fact, and that my own experience has verified.

If I use the above as a foundation for any opinion I may form, I am left with several possibilities and it becomes very difficult to use any one of those possibilities as a definite, supportable opinion based upon a photograph.

18th December 2018, 09:48 PM	#20
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,991	David, what you have shown in this image I would call "typically Palembang" I wouldn't even think twice, or go looking for other possibilities, to me, this is Palembang. However, when we begin to talk about blades, I need to think more than twice. What I know is this:- 1) Palembang made keris blades vary across a wide range of styles; there is no uniquely Palembang style of blade. 2) Many Palembang keris used and use blades that originated in other localities. 3) Palembang was/is all about trade, people from all over the region moved and move in and out all the time 4) Javanese style blades that are larger than the Javanese blades that are customary in Central Jawa and East Jawa can usually be associated with North Coast and West Jawa, or with Lombok. 5) A gentle curve in the face of a gandhik is usually associated with West Jawa 6) A "brick laying down " (boto rubuh, elongated horizontally) blumbangan is associated with West Jawa and in a lesser degree, North Coast Jawa 7) The top of a gonjo needs to be able to conform to the type of dress that is common in the location where the keris was made, or where the gonjo was replaced 8) Overall blade style tends to be more or less related in any geographic location 9) Style and execution of detail in a blade can and does vary according to individual makers, variation is greatest at lower levels of quality. The above are things I know to be true. I'm not guessing, I'm not floating possibilities. These things are things that I have been taught to be matters of fact, and that my own experience has verified. If I use the above as a foundation for any opinion I may form, I am left with several possibilities and it becomes very difficult to use any one of those possibilities as a definite, supportable opinion based upon a photograph.