Little keris for comment and a few question

[Sajen]

A while back I got this little keris (patrem?) in a mixed lot.
It's a pretty well made piece in my humble opinion and all seems made together and fits pretty well.
My questions:
-- Would you describe it as patrem?
-- Has anyone seen before such a joint between gandar and wrongko?
-- Would you restore the broken piece from the gandar?

Thanks in advance!

[A. G. Maisey]

How long is the blade, how long overall?

Looking at the two keris, side by side, I'd probably call this a patrem, provided the other keris is normal.

If requested a m'ranggi will use whatever means & joints work best to make something functional.

Have I ever seen precisely the same joint as this?

I don't know, I've seen very many & I do not remember them all, but if the m'ranggi decided that joint would work best, that's what he would use.

[Sajen]

Thank you Alan! Yes, the other keris is of normal size.
Forgot to give the size! The keris is 31,5 cm long with handle, the blade without pesi is 24 cm long.

Regards,
Detlef

[David]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Thank you Alan! Yes, the other keris is of normal size.
Forgot to give the size! The keris is 31,5 cm long with handle, the blade without pesi is 24 cm long.

Others might have a different gage, but i tend to consider any Javanese keris under 10 inches to be a strong contender for patrem status. At 24cm that puts your blade at 9.45 inches, so yes, i would call this a patrem.
To my eyes this joint of the wrongko is rather unique. I can't remember ever seeing it before. It is a shame that the gandar broke off at the bottom. The pelet wood is quite nice and if you have anyone available with the skills creating a new gandar should not be too difficult.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by David

Others might have a different gage, but i tend to consider any Javanese keris under 10 inches to be a strong contender for patrem status. At 24cm that puts your blade at 9.45 inches, so yes, i would call this a patrem.
To my eyes this joint of the wrongko is rather unique. I can't remember ever seeing it before. It is a shame that the gandar broke off at the bottom. The pelet wood is quite nice and if you have anyone available with the skills creating a new gandar should not be too difficult.

Thank you David! I also would call it patrem but wanted to know what others think.
Like you I never before have seen such a joint. As you can see it's very well done.
And like you I like the pelet wrongko which shows his full beauty after a good clean.
I will see how it's possible to repair the scabbard.

Regards,
Detlef

[A. G. Maisey]

Yes Detlef, I believe most people would call it a patrem.

However, strictly speaking, a keris patrem is a keris specifically for a woman.

We need to remember that in olden times, when a keris was made for a man, the length & some other features of the keris were made specifically for the man.

There were some very small men in Jawa, & this applies until now. I remember that during the 1970's I could walk into a crowd of people, say, somewhere like a market, and look over the heads of the vast bulk of people in that crowd. I stand 5'8" (1.727m) tall.

Re the joint.

A similar joint to this is often used in fixing a buntut to the tip of a gandar. A good m'ranggi can produce just about anything that the occasion demands. If the owner of the keris wanted to preserve as much of the old scabbard as possible, the m'ranggi probably decided to make the joint in this form, he might never have made this form previously.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Yes Detlef, I believe most people would call it a patrem.

However, strictly speaking, a keris patrem is a keris specifically for a woman.

We need to remember that in olden times, when a keris was made for a man, the length & some other features of the keris were made specifically for the man.

There were some very small men in Jawa, & this applies until now. I remember that during the 1970's I could walk into a crowd of people, say, somewhere like a market, and look over the heads of the vast bulk of people in that crowd. I stand 5'8" (1.727m) tall.

Re the joint.

A similar joint to this is often used in fixing a buntut to the tip of a gandar. A good m'ranggi can produce just about anything that the occasion demands. If the owner of the keris wanted to preserve as much of the old scabbard as possible, the m'ranggi probably decided to make the joint in this form, he might never have made this form previously.

Hello Alan,

It was my guess that this unusual joint could be an old repair of a former restoration.
And yes, the effect that you can look as a bule over the heads of the vast bulk of people when I am in Indonesia is known to me.

Regards,
Detlef

[A. G. Maisey]

Not any more Detlef, not any more.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Not any more Detlef, not any more.

Yes, we get smaller again as we get older!

[A. G. Maisey]

and the younger generations have become taller

[Sajen]

Also very true!