Javanese Keris?

[A. G. Maisey]

The description of this keris given by the seller is not quite accurate.

The blade is 13 luk, pamor is adeg in the body of the blade, and probably what we can call a "flame" pamor in the base ( I can give a Javanese name for this, but I will need to spend more time on analysis of this little patch of pamor in the sorsoran). It is probably a 20th century blade, but I cannot be certain of this from photos, no matter how good.

The wrongko (warangka, scabbard) is Solo (Surakarta) gayaman, which is the informal, everyday style, the wood can probably be classified as kayu pelet, it might be timoho, but I cannot tell from a photo. The pendok (metal scabbard cover) is bunton style, the photos are not good enough for me to identify the embossed motif, but it is most likely lung-lungan ( twining vines and foliage).

The jejeran (ukiran, hilt) is a Madurese style, depicting a serpent, it would be legitimate to describe this as a jejeran with naga motif. The mendak (hilt ring between hilt and blade) is a Central Javanese kendit set with pastes.

The only thing wrong with this keris is the hilt, it is totally out of place, it should be taken off the keris and displayed separately as a miniature sculpture. This existing hilt should be replaced with a Solo planar style of hilt, preferably a yudowinatan model.

Do this and you will have an absolutely correct Solo gayaman keris that could be used for wear on most occasions. It is a recent keris, but most definitely not "tourist", or "wall hanger". It is the real deal, but get rid of that hilt, it does not belong.