Keris Bugis?

Caedo · 4th February 2012, 03:35 AM

Greetings all. Attached are pictures of my first keris, presented to me when I took up pencak silat. Admittedly, what I know about keris amounts to very little, but my thoughts so far are that the hulu and warangka are Bugis, but that the blade is not. I have found only one picture of a keris luk of this dapur, and that was an illustration rather than a photograph. Pamor is wos wutah? Can anyone confirm or deny what I've already learned and/or fill in the gaps (tangguh, materials used, etc.)? The blade from ganja to point measures roughly 34cm.

PenangsangII · 4th February 2012, 04:18 PM

its almost impossible to determine the tangguh of this keris just by looking at the pictures. However the blade profile looks like Tuban or Cirebon to me

David · 4th February 2012, 05:59 PM

Welcome to the forum Caedo. Just a few observations. The dress does not appear to have been made for this keris as the fit is questionable. You may be right that the blade does not originate from the same place as the dress, though i am not convinced that this is a Javanese blade as Penangsang suggests. The sheath is a nice wood. The fittings look 20th century to me, but you photos aren't too good and your colors appear off. Are the fittings silver or some other metal? The hulu looks like bone to me. I cannot see in your photos tell-tale signs of ivory grain. The mendak seems incorrect for this dress as i believe this is a Javanese mendak and you need a pendodok in it's place.
The materials look to be to have all received some level of an aging process so i suspect the entire ensemble may well be late 20th C. But i hand, or even sharper photos in better light, might reveal otherwise.

Caedo · 4th February 2012, 07:03 PM

My apologies for the photo quality. I will look for an opportunity to take better ones, but for now, this is as good as it gets. The fittings on the sheath are brass and are embossed with foliage (top) and tigers (bottom). There is definite evidence that the mouth of the sheath has been built up with something to make a better fit. I couldn't tell you what the mendak is made from, but it isn't in good shape. May have been silver plated? Looks like base metal now. The whole thing is admittedly rather humble, but it is mine.

It came to me through the son of a gas company engineer who lived somewhere in Indonesia in the 1970s. It was explained to me that he traveled from island to island as part of his job, and the keris was most likely acquired in a village well off the beaten path. It sat mostly untouched until last year.

Thank you for your insights. As I said, I'll see if I can get better pictures. Are their any specific portions of the keris that would be helpful see in greater detail?

Jean · 5th February 2012, 09:07 AM

If the keris really stayed untouched since the 1970's, then the hilt is not made from bone as it would show some pitting, it rather looks from marine ivory to me. The blade is not Bugis IMO, and East Java is an option.
Best regards

Sajen · 5th February 2012, 10:43 AM

Agree with Jean, hilt look like marine ivory. The metal fittings at the sheath could be cut out from a pendok and the buntut of the sheath look not like the original or first one.
But still a good first keris!

Regards,

Detlef

Henk · 5th February 2012, 11:58 AM

Put in my two cents.

Metal fittings aren't cut out from a pendok but made for this sheath. The pictures are not good enough for me to judge the buntut.

The ukiran is an ivory one as mentioned but the mendak is a replacement IMHO. It looks more like a javanese mendak.

The keris isn't a sturdy Bugis blade but has more the feature of a javanese blade. But as we know keris in that region were also forged after Javanese examples which where highly apreciated.But javanese blades were also subject of trading by the Buginese sailors.

I would say we look at an Sumatran keris. I would certainly leave it as it is.
The only thing one can consider to change is the mendak.

Caedo · 9th February 2012, 11:49 PM

Thanks again for the comments and suggestions. It is my understanding that Bugis blades are usually almost hexagonal in cross-section, which is why I didn't think this blade matched the dress. The grain in the buntut is hard to make out due to its narrowness and the grooves carved into it. It is definitely a few shades lighter in color than the rest of the sheath, however, but whether that is due to different woods or different finishes is beyond me.

I will indeed look into replacing the mendak.

4th February 2012, 03:35 AM	#1
Caedo Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Tennessee Posts: 11	Keris Bugis? Greetings all. Attached are pictures of my first keris, presented to me when I took up pencak silat. Admittedly, what I know about keris amounts to very little, but my thoughts so far are that the hulu and warangka are Bugis, but that the blade is not. I have found only one picture of a keris luk of this dapur, and that was an illustration rather than a photograph. Pamor is wos wutah? Can anyone confirm or deny what I've already learned and/or fill in the gaps (tangguh, materials used, etc.)? The blade from ganja to point measures roughly 34cm. Attached Images

4th February 2012, 05:59 PM	#3
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,119	Welcome to the forum Caedo. Just a few observations. The dress does not appear to have been made for this keris as the fit is questionable. You may be right that the blade does not originate from the same place as the dress, though i am not convinced that this is a Javanese blade as Penangsang suggests. The sheath is a nice wood. The fittings look 20th century to me, but you photos aren't too good and your colors appear off. Are the fittings silver or some other metal? The hulu looks like bone to me. I cannot see in your photos tell-tale signs of ivory grain. The mendak seems incorrect for this dress as i believe this is a Javanese mendak and you need a pendodok in it's place. The materials look to be to have all received some level of an aging process so i suspect the entire ensemble may well be late 20th C. But i hand, or even sharper photos in better light, might reveal otherwise. Last edited by David; 10th April 2014 at 02:47 PM.

4th February 2012, 04:18 PM	#2
PenangsangII Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 401	its almost impossible to determine the tangguh of this keris just by looking at the pictures. However the blade profile looks like Tuban or Cirebon to me

4th February 2012, 07:03 PM	#4
Caedo Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Tennessee Posts: 11	My apologies for the photo quality. I will look for an opportunity to take better ones, but for now, this is as good as it gets. The fittings on the sheath are brass and are embossed with foliage (top) and tigers (bottom). There is definite evidence that the mouth of the sheath has been built up with something to make a better fit. I couldn't tell you what the mendak is made from, but it isn't in good shape. May have been silver plated? Looks like base metal now. The whole thing is admittedly rather humble, but it is mine. It came to me through the son of a gas company engineer who lived somewhere in Indonesia in the 1970s. It was explained to me that he traveled from island to island as part of his job, and the keris was most likely acquired in a village well off the beaten path. It sat mostly untouched until last year. Thank you for your insights. As I said, I'll see if I can get better pictures. Are their any specific portions of the keris that would be helpful see in greater detail?

5th February 2012, 09:07 AM	#5
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	If the keris really stayed untouched since the 1970's, then the hilt is not made from bone as it would show some pitting, it rather looks from marine ivory to me. The blade is not Bugis IMO, and East Java is an option. Best regards

5th February 2012, 10:43 AM	#6
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 8,766	Agree with Jean, hilt look like marine ivory. The metal fittings at the sheath could be cut out from a pendok and the buntut of the sheath look not like the original or first one. But still a good first keris! Regards, Detlef

5th February 2012, 11:58 AM	#7
Henk Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 1,209	Put in my two cents. Metal fittings aren't cut out from a pendok but made for this sheath. The pictures are not good enough for me to judge the buntut. The ukiran is an ivory one as mentioned but the mendak is a replacement IMHO. It looks more like a javanese mendak. The keris isn't a sturdy Bugis blade but has more the feature of a javanese blade. But as we know keris in that region were also forged after Javanese examples which where highly apreciated.But javanese blades were also subject of trading by the Buginese sailors. I would say we look at an Sumatran keris. I would certainly leave it as it is. The only thing one can consider to change is the mendak.

9th February 2012, 11:49 PM	#8
Caedo Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Tennessee Posts: 11	Thanks again for the comments and suggestions. It is my understanding that Bugis blades are usually almost hexagonal in cross-section, which is why I didn't think this blade matched the dress. The grain in the buntut is hard to make out due to its narrowness and the grooves carved into it. It is definitely a few shades lighter in color than the rest of the sheath, however, but whether that is due to different woods or different finishes is beyond me. I will indeed look into replacing the mendak.