Keris Djogya?

Interested Party · 14th September 2024, 05:30 PM

I haven't bought a keris in a long time, but I saw this for the price of a pizza and I couldn't resist. No one has posted in a few days so I thought this would liven things up. I reviewed Tammens for some clarity and this seemed to give me more questions than answers. I have studied a lot since reading him and that opened up inconsistencies I hadn't noticed before. I have a lot of questions, but few statements about this object. Is this a keris from Djogyakarta or just the dress? Dapor Sempana Kalentang? Teak burl wranka? Alas alan motif on the pendok bunton? The blade is old enough to have lost its stain, how long does that take? Overall quality. I noticed for example the "shoulders" of the hilt are slightly asymmetrical. Thanks in advance for any help and clarity the group wants to give.

-IP

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A. G. Maisey · 14th September 2024, 10:33 PM

The dress is certainly Jogja, I'm away from my references at the moment so I cannot give the wanda of the hilt.

The wood in the wrongko is definitely not burl teak (jati gembol). I cannot ID it from the photos, but it is a low quality material.

The pendok motif might be an alas-alasan one, but there are insufficient detailed photos for me to give an opinion.

I need to get on to a decent computer & monitor to comment on the mendak.

The blade has the pawakan --- overall visual impression --- of a typical Jogja blade, but if I look at details it has a hint of Madura. Possibly this Madura impression might come from photo distortion --- angles --- I'd need to handle it to be certain.

I reckon 99.9% of keris literate people would place this keris, including blade, slap dab in the middle of Jogja.

That name "Jogja" is interesting.
This city is named after Ayodhya, the place where Rama (of Ramayana fame) was born, in Jawa this became Ngayogyakarta, sometimes pronounced Ngayogyokerto or Ngayodyokerto, & commonly abbreviated to Ngayogyo/Ngayodyo until today.

The official spelling is Yogyakarta, abbreviated to Yogya or just Yog.

The spelling of all variations of the name of this city can vary, both as to vowels & consonants, this is just one of the idiosyncrasies resulting from the fact that Javanese is not a standardised language.

David · 14th September 2024, 11:01 PM

Nice score. I might have even been willing to pay the price of 2 or 3 pizzas.

Just goes to show that such deals still exist. No, this is not a keris of particularly high quality, but it ain't junk either. I certainly wouldn't leave it behind at that price either.

A. G. Maisey · 16th September 2024, 11:20 PM

Here are a couple of examples of burl teak/jati gembol.

Pendita65 · Yesterday, 10:46 PM

Mr. Maisey,

what a beautiful grain and color of the Teak Burl.

thnx for sharing.

regards, Martin

A. G. Maisey · Today, 12:35 PM

Thank you Martin, yes, they're not too bad, I agree.

A bit difficult to get this now though.

Interested Party · Today, 02:38 PM

Thank you Mr. Maisey. I appreciate the feedback. I see the difference in the quality of the wood you posted. What are the features of the blade that you would regard as Madura? The pendok only has birds. Can a motif be alas alasan without elephants?

Finally what kind of person would have used this keris? What does it say about a person socially?

David, I do love deals. They are not abundant these days.

How long does it take for a stain to wear off through cleaning, oiling, and wear?

14th September 2024, 05:30 PM	#1
Interested Party Member Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: Eastern Sierra Posts: 440	Keris Djogya? I haven't bought a keris in a long time, but I saw this for the price of a pizza and I couldn't resist. No one has posted in a few days so I thought this would liven things up. I reviewed Tammens for some clarity and this seemed to give me more questions than answers. I have studied a lot since reading him and that opened up inconsistencies I hadn't noticed before. I have a lot of questions, but few statements about this object. Is this a keris from Djogyakarta or just the dress? Dapor Sempana Kalentang? Teak burl wranka? Alas alan motif on the pendok bunton? The blade is old enough to have lost its stain, how long does that take? Overall quality. I noticed for example the "shoulders" of the hilt are slightly asymmetrical. Thanks in advance for any help and clarity the group wants to give. -IP Attachment 240079

16th September 2024, 11:20 PM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,860	Here are a couple of examples of burl teak/jati gembol. Attached Images

14th September 2024, 10:33 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,860	The dress is certainly Jogja, I'm away from my references at the moment so I cannot give the wanda of the hilt. The wood in the wrongko is definitely not burl teak (jati gembol). I cannot ID it from the photos, but it is a low quality material. The pendok motif might be an alas-alasan one, but there are insufficient detailed photos for me to give an opinion. I need to get on to a decent computer & monitor to comment on the mendak. The blade has the pawakan --- overall visual impression --- of a typical Jogja blade, but if I look at details it has a hint of Madura. Possibly this Madura impression might come from photo distortion --- angles --- I'd need to handle it to be certain. I reckon 99.9% of keris literate people would place this keris, including blade, slap dab in the middle of Jogja. That name "Jogja" is interesting. This city is named after Ayodhya, the place where Rama (of Ramayana fame) was born, in Jawa this became Ngayogyakarta, sometimes pronounced Ngayogyokerto or Ngayodyokerto, & commonly abbreviated to Ngayogyo/Ngayodyo until today. The official spelling is Yogyakarta, abbreviated to Yogya or just Yog. The spelling of all variations of the name of this city can vary, both as to vowels & consonants, this is just one of the idiosyncrasies resulting from the fact that Javanese is not a standardised language.

14th September 2024, 11:01 PM	#3
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,103	Nice score. I might have even been willing to pay the price of 2 or 3 pizzas. Just goes to show that such deals still exist. No, this is not a keris of particularly high quality, but it ain't junk either. I certainly wouldn't leave it behind at that price either.

Yesterday, 10:46 PM	#5
Pendita65 Member Join Date: Feb 2023 Location: Amsterdam Posts: 95	Mr. Maisey, what a beautiful grain and color of the Teak Burl. thnx for sharing. regards, Martin

Today, 12:35 PM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,860	Thank you Martin, yes, they're not too bad, I agree. A bit difficult to get this now though.

Today, 02:38 PM	#7
Interested Party Member Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: Eastern Sierra Posts: 440	Thank you Mr. Maisey. I appreciate the feedback. I see the difference in the quality of the wood you posted. What are the features of the blade that you would regard as Madura? The pendok only has birds. Can a motif be alas alasan without elephants? Finally what kind of person would have used this keris? What does it say about a person socially? David, I do love deals. They are not abundant these days. How long does it take for a stain to wear off through cleaning, oiling, and wear?