My First Post

David · 23rd December 2021, 08:53 PM

Welcome to the forum Catmeowin.
Yes, you do seem to have basically a Javanese keris, but the hilt that is on it is a Madurese style. You can see the influences of Colonial Dutch with features such as epaulettes on the "shoulder" areas of the hilt. It is a fair carving. Nothing nearly as skilled as the Madurese can be with see hilts. This hilt is backwards, btw, and should be facing 180 degrees in the other direction.
The blade has 11 luk (waves) as is commonly counted in an alternating method. Not a high end masterpiece, but a reasonable well executed blade. I am sure others will comment more specifically on this.
The sheath (wrongko) seems a rather nice one. It is wrongko iras, which means it was carved all from one piece of wood rather than having a separate stem (gandar) glued onto it. As you can image, this method is more difficult and requires more skill. I would like to see better photos that include the entire top sheath, but it seems to be a Solo style called gayaman kagol bancih. Gayaman refers to sheath generally meant for everyday use as opposed to ladrang sheaths meant for more formal occasions.

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23rd December 2021, 08:53 PM	#2
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,211	Welcome to the forum Catmeowin. Yes, you do seem to have basically a Javanese keris, but the hilt that is on it is a Madurese style. You can see the influences of Colonial Dutch with features such as epaulettes on the "shoulder" areas of the hilt. It is a fair carving. Nothing nearly as skilled as the Madurese can be with see hilts. This hilt is backwards, btw, and should be facing 180 degrees in the other direction. The blade has 11 luk (waves) as is commonly counted in an alternating method. Not a high end masterpiece, but a reasonable well executed blade. I am sure others will comment more specifically on this. The sheath (wrongko) seems a rather nice one. It is wrongko iras, which means it was carved all from one piece of wood rather than having a separate stem (gandar) glued onto it. As you can image, this method is more difficult and requires more skill. I would like to see better photos that include the entire top sheath, but it seems to be a Solo style called gayaman kagol bancih. Gayaman refers to sheath generally meant for everyday use as opposed to ladrang sheaths meant for more formal occasions.