Solo keris for comment.

[A. G. Maisey]

Niccolo de Conti probably reached parts of S.E. Asia in the early 1400's

In the late 1500's an Englishman named Fitch reached Malacca.

The Portuguese reached Malacca in 1511, and a year later reached Jawa and some of the other islands that now make up Indonesia.

It was not until the 1600's that there was any serious European contact with S.E Asia, and particularly with Jawa.

European contact with Jawa was initially with the trading enclaves along the North Coast, all of which were strongly influenced by Islamic style long before the European contact.

During the Majapahit era the merchants in these Islamic enclaves adopted much of the style of Majapahit, however, they adopted the style in an absence of understanding content, so when the keris became a profane object it acquired a nature that was shaped by a different ethic to that which applied within the Majapahit court.

The earliest keris held in European collections all date from this time, and most do not have any scabbard or part of a scabbard. No keris scabbards exist which date from the time of Majapahit, our only guide is the representations of scabbards found in monumental carvings.

However, bearing in mind the massive migration of people from East Jawa to Bali, both before and after the final collapse of Majapahit, together with the active rejection by Balinese rulers of contact with Jawa, following the dominance of Islam in Jawa, I believe it is reasonable to look at Balinese styles of keris scabbard and use those as a guide to the probable form of pre-Islamic Javanese keris scabbards.

I do not believe that there is any evidence that the flamboyant styles of the Central Javanese scabbard originated during the Second Mataram Era, but there is strong circumstantial evidence that these styles did develop (as distinct from originate) during this period.

From the time of Sutawijaya (Panembahan Senopati) the House of Mataram was very actively engaged in trying to validate their claim to kingship, and much of the style of Modern Jawa was shaped by these actions, for instance, the development of the Modern Javanese language and the extreme nature of Javanese societal hierarchy can probably be attributed to the early rulers of the House of Mataram trying to elevate themselves above the rest of society.

It is probably reasonable to assume that dress styles were also developed that tended to elevate the people at the top of the societal pyramid, and the keris is an item of dress.