What Constitutes a Kraton Keris?

nechesh · 21st May 2006, 05:22 PM

OK folks, here it is, the long awaited Kraton Keris thread!!!

Kai Wee gave this a good start in the now locked thread so i will just copy his questions over:

1. Are kraton kerises referring to the royal pusaka, or simply any keris that may be used/worn by a person working in the kraton, including the guards?

2. Must kraton kerises necessarily come out of the kraton armoury, or is it a reference to a certain level of quality?

3. Are kraton kerises made by empus, or could they have been kerises owned by founding sultans/sunans of the kraton, which may not have been made by an empu?

4. Can kraton pieces be 'inducted'? i.e. purchased from somebody and added to the armoury? If so, how long must it be inside the kraton to be considered a kraton piece?

5. "Rejected" kerises made by empu associated to a kraton - are these kraton pieces?

And also, just to share - there is a book published by the Yogya kraton. It has good pictures of the principal keris attributed to the Sultan, the crown prince, the Eldest son and the chief minister. The Sultan's own keris is a rather 'unspectacular' straight keris with a little bit of kinatah work and a combong. And I have seen the keris blade of the super gold Bugis keris on the cover of "Court Arts of Indonesia". That is a "normal-looking" 7-waved Bugis blade. No doubt a good tough blade with good form, but nothing fancy that we would imagine.

So what does it mean to be a kraton piece? And what are the conceptions that we have of the way a kraton piece must look?

Personally i have no preconceived notions of how a kraton blade must look. I do usually assume that the quality will be good, but it needn't be anything fancy. As Kai Wee points out, there are some rather unassuming blades to be found within the fancy dress of some highly provenenced court pieces.

21st May 2006, 05:22 PM	#1
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	What Constitutes a Kraton Keris? OK folks, here it is, the long awaited Kraton Keris thread!!! Kai Wee gave this a good start in the now locked thread so i will just copy his questions over: 1. Are kraton kerises referring to the royal pusaka, or simply any keris that may be used/worn by a person working in the kraton, including the guards? 2. Must kraton kerises necessarily come out of the kraton armoury, or is it a reference to a certain level of quality? 3. Are kraton kerises made by empus, or could they have been kerises owned by founding sultans/sunans of the kraton, which may not have been made by an empu? 4. Can kraton pieces be 'inducted'? i.e. purchased from somebody and added to the armoury? If so, how long must it be inside the kraton to be considered a kraton piece? 5. "Rejected" kerises made by empu associated to a kraton - are these kraton pieces? And also, just to share - there is a book published by the Yogya kraton. It has good pictures of the principal keris attributed to the Sultan, the crown prince, the Eldest son and the chief minister. The Sultan's own keris is a rather 'unspectacular' straight keris with a little bit of kinatah work and a combong. And I have seen the keris blade of the super gold Bugis keris on the cover of "Court Arts of Indonesia". That is a "normal-looking" 7-waved Bugis blade. No doubt a good tough blade with good form, but nothing fancy that we would imagine. So what does it mean to be a kraton piece? And what are the conceptions that we have of the way a kraton piece must look? Personally i have no preconceived notions of how a kraton blade must look. I do usually assume that the quality will be good, but it needn't be anything fancy. As Kai Wee points out, there are some rather unassuming blades to be found within the fancy dress of some highly provenenced court pieces.