Coyness in posting keris pics

A. G. Maisey · 8th January 2023, 07:42 PM

Keris, tombak and other items of tosan aji are regarded as having protective qualities.

When they are on display in a traditional Javanese home they are usually put in a strategic position that the people living in that home believe will protect the home & themselves from evil.

Blawongs were & are wall decorations, sometimes intended just as a decoration, like a painting or framed picture, sometimes because the people living in the house regard the blawong& its motif as protective. This is very much the case in rural Central Jawa.

Somewhere along the way people started to combine the protective qualities of the blawong with the protective qualities of the keris. Blawongs were not originally intended to display keris.

As for the ploncon/jagrak, Sid is dead right when he says that display of keris dress is totally different to display of the keris itself. There can be a number of reasons why easily reachable keris could be considered a good idea.

For instance, let's say you are a Javanese gentleman dressed in full traditional attire, you're on your way to a wedding, or a party or some other event, you call in to have a yarn with your mate along the way.

It is not possible to sit comfortably in a normal lounge chair with a wangkingan stuck in the back of your setagen, so you remove it, then what do you do with it?

If your mate has a ploncon in his front room, you put the keris into that, and when you're leaving you turn it into a wangkingan again.

Then we have dealers:- they need some way to display what they are selling. Keris dress is fragile, a ploncon helps to prevent damage.

What I've written relates to Javanese keris, but what about the little statues that are used to hold Balinese keris?

These were originally placed on the front verandah next to the front door, a visitor placed his keris into the holder when entered the house or sat.

A. G. Maisey · 8th January 2023, 08:08 PM

Sid, I think your post #36 is close to the mark from one perspective, but long, long before the internet came along, collectors and students of the keris, and just about everything else collectable were going along to periodic meetings and taking their favourite or recent possessions along to show other people. Sometimes there might have been an element of flamboyance & self aggrandizement, but I feel that it was mostly just interested people associating with other interested people.

Exhibitions still happen, apart from keris I have other interests --- watches, paper weights, sea shells, gemstones, ancient coins & etc &etc --- when the opportunity arises I go along to exhibitions of these sorts of things, really, for no other purpose than just to look at them, because I like looking at them.

With keris it is a wee bit different:- we are dealing with a cultural icon that has sacred elements. I feel that the people who understand this are more often than not inclined to to be somewhat conservative with the items they are prepared to display, but the pure collector who has little or no interest in the back story of the keris is interested in other qualities and all the baggage that the keris carries is of little interest to him.

Yeah, for sure sometimes the dealers get out there and wave things around to try to raise interest, but it is the responsibility of the buyer to know what a fair price is for the item he wishes to buy, and many things can affect a fair price.

I recently paid around 6K more for a used motor vehicle than was recognised as the going rate for that particular vehicle, year & model. I reckon I got a bargain. Why? This was the legendary ten year old vehicle that had only been driven to church on Sundays by the legendary Little Old Lady. It was still in showroom condition with exceptionally low mileage.

Lots of things can affect a price of anything, a buyer needs to know what he is doing, he needs to strive to know as much or more than the dealers.

8th January 2023, 07:42 PM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,989	Keris, tombak and other items of tosan aji are regarded as having protective qualities. When they are on display in a traditional Javanese home they are usually put in a strategic position that the people living in that home believe will protect the home & themselves from evil. Blawongs were & are wall decorations, sometimes intended just as a decoration, like a painting or framed picture, sometimes because the people living in the house regard the blawong& its motif as protective. This is very much the case in rural Central Jawa. Somewhere along the way people started to combine the protective qualities of the blawong with the protective qualities of the keris. Blawongs were not originally intended to display keris. As for the ploncon/jagrak, Sid is dead right when he says that display of keris dress is totally different to display of the keris itself. There can be a number of reasons why easily reachable keris could be considered a good idea. For instance, let's say you are a Javanese gentleman dressed in full traditional attire, you're on your way to a wedding, or a party or some other event, you call in to have a yarn with your mate along the way. It is not possible to sit comfortably in a normal lounge chair with a wangkingan stuck in the back of your setagen, so you remove it, then what do you do with it? If your mate has a ploncon in his front room, you put the keris into that, and when you're leaving you turn it into a wangkingan again. Then we have dealers:- they need some way to display what they are selling. Keris dress is fragile, a ploncon helps to prevent damage. What I've written relates to Javanese keris, but what about the little statues that are used to hold Balinese keris? These were originally placed on the front verandah next to the front door, a visitor placed his keris into the holder when entered the house or sat.

8th January 2023, 08:08 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,989	Sid, I think your post #36 is close to the mark from one perspective, but long, long before the internet came along, collectors and students of the keris, and just about everything else collectable were going along to periodic meetings and taking their favourite or recent possessions along to show other people. Sometimes there might have been an element of flamboyance & self aggrandizement, but I feel that it was mostly just interested people associating with other interested people. Exhibitions still happen, apart from keris I have other interests --- watches, paper weights, sea shells, gemstones, ancient coins & etc &etc --- when the opportunity arises I go along to exhibitions of these sorts of things, really, for no other purpose than just to look at them, because I like looking at them. With keris it is a wee bit different:- we are dealing with a cultural icon that has sacred elements. I feel that the people who understand this are more often than not inclined to to be somewhat conservative with the items they are prepared to display, but the pure collector who has little or no interest in the back story of the keris is interested in other qualities and all the baggage that the keris carries is of little interest to him. Yeah, for sure sometimes the dealers get out there and wave things around to try to raise interest, but it is the responsibility of the buyer to know what a fair price is for the item he wishes to buy, and many things can affect a fair price. I recently paid around 6K more for a used motor vehicle than was recognised as the going rate for that particular vehicle, year & model. I reckon I got a bargain. Why? This was the legendary ten year old vehicle that had only been driven to church on Sundays by the legendary Little Old Lady. It was still in showroom condition with exceptionally low mileage. Lots of things can affect a price of anything, a buyer needs to know what he is doing, he needs to strive to know as much or more than the dealers.