Keris Holders

[A. G. Maisey]

Jean, the keris holder you has given a photo of is current Jogjakarta. I've never had one of these myself, but a collector here in Sydney who is a jewellery dealer and who buys in Jogja and Bali has had a number of these made over the last 20 years or so.

In respect of the identification of one of these keris holders as a specific personage, to wit, Ravana.
Jean, Balinese carvers of all things tend to give their own interpretation to the form, attributes and characteristics of personages from sources upon which they have to draw. Sometimes these interpretations coincide with the accepted attributes of a known personage, more often they do not. The carvers themselves are not brahmans who have been schooled in religious doctrine, mostly they are sudra, and have only a very limited understanding of what they are interpreting. In addition, they will frequently add and remove features from a piece of work, based not upon any sort of doctrinal correctness, but rather upon personal feeling.

Perhaps the best known, and most easily recognizable example of this trait is the way in which Ganesha is depicted in Bali. In respect of popular art and craft, I have yet to see a Balinese depiction of Ganesha that would be regognised as Ganesha by any Hindu. Mostly when a mainline Hindu sees a Balinese depiction of Ganesha they will say that it is not Ganesha at all, but some other character that they cannot identify. Even the Candi Sukuh stele that is generally accepted as showing Ganesha will not be accepted as Ganesha by a Hindu. They do not understand that a reference to a deity by depiction of a single characteristic is sufficient if understood in context to refer to the complete deity. The deity exists in the other world as a complete being, and in the mind as a complete being, only the suggestion is needed to bring this forth in the mind.

Come closer to home:- the kembang kacang on a keris is a reference to Ganesha, this single feature is sufficient to bring forth the entire presence of Ganesha when accompanied by the mantra, all the kembang kacang does is to center the mind. This Jawa/Bali attitude is a development of the original mainstream attitude where a devotee needs less and less physical reference to a deity as his intensity of devotion increases. The statues of Hindu deities are intended as an aid to the common people, they are not required by a brahman.

Pande Wayan Suteja Neka is very well schooled in Balinese art. In a recent small booklet that he authored --- "Understanding Balinese Keris" --- he was unable to identify a large number of the personages depicted in Balinese keris hilts, he simply gives a description of "a Royal figure", or "a princely figure", or similar. Very general type descriptions, not specific ones.

So Jean, this is a very roundabout way to respond to your question on Ravana. If we wish to know exactly who this figure is, we need to ask the man who carved it. I gave up trying to work who who Balinese carvers and other artisans were trying to depict years ago. In fact, if they've been getting into the magic mushrooms, they probably wouldn't even know themselves who it was they were carving, they had probably left the room and a friendly spirit was using their hands. When they came back, they could well be as puzzled as anybody else in respect of the figure that their hand had produced.

I should add, that as in all things associated with perhaps any culture, but certainly with the cultures and societies of Jawa and Bali, what I have written above has been written with the current era and its recent past in mind. In the distant past, we cannot use this same interpretation.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

So Jean, this is a very roundabout way to respond to your question on Ravana. If we wish to know exactly who this figure is, we need to ask the man who carved it.

Thank you Alan and I fully agree with your conclusion
Regards

[asomotif]

Want to share this little fellow who came to live with us 2 years ago :-)

[sirek]

I really like this character (unfortunately it's not mine)

[Jean]

As promised I attach the pics of my 3 kris holders:
. The first piece is balinese and made from hard & dense wood, it measures 63 cm high and it may depict Bayu or Bima. The figure has long thumb nails and a full jewelry set. I acquired it in Jakarta in 1995, note the similarity with the "Ravana" holder described in the thesis from Cynthia.
. The second holder is probably Balinese also and it seems to depict a Chinese gentleman. I acquired it in Surabaya in 1996.
. The third holder seems to be javanese and it may depict the Punakawan Bagong identified from his round eyes, big mouth, and short nose. Bagong is also wearing a hair bun, and there is a trace of a hair tuft on top of the head.
Your comments and pics of other kris holders will be welcome.
Regards

[A. G. Maisey]

Why do you think #3 is Javanese Jean?

[Jean]

Hello Alan,
From the style of the black sarong & belt and the carving which does not look like the balinese depictions of the punakawans, and it reminds me of some Loryo Blonyo statues from Central Java. Note the slim support also, contrary to the balinese kris holders.
I bought it from a Dutch collector so I have no proven provenance and I am open to another opinion!
Regards