Trisula

[Kubur]

Hi Guys,

Many of you are specialists of Java and Indonesia.
Any ideas about this trisula?
Thanks

Kubur

[Rick]

The 'wormholes' at the Metuk on one side strike me as a bit strange.

[Battara]

It looks cast rather than forged. Could this be a decorative modern make?

[Rick]

That thought crossed my mind too Jose. I just couldn't see the point of doing it; and from the looks of the tang it seems to have been mounted at some time in its past.
My guess would be that if it was a cast piece it was not made yesterday.
The surface also looks kind of odd for something made in a forge.

[Kubur]

Hi Both,

I agree it has been cast, the holes and some ridges in the inner curves let me think that you are right. This is a nice piece and doesn't look recent at all.

I found something extremely interesting that I would like to share with you:

"Carrying emblems of a worldly or spiritual authority at the front of processions, into battle or at festivals is a worldwide and ancient custom. One Javanese fashion, stemming from the Hindu-Buddhist period, is to mount emblems pertaining to the highest leader reproduced in metal on ceremonial lances. For instance, the two core attributes of the Hindu God Wisnu, the wheel-shaped throwing disc (cakra) and the conch shell (sankha), are the emblems borne on the standards of the army of Prince Rama, an incarnation of Wisnu and acting on his behalf, in a Ramayana episode depicted on the wall of the East Javanese temple Candi Panataran dating to c.1350. Several of these types of finials cast in bronze have been recovered. As far as can be determined, they are the emblems of Hindu Gods, the Nawadewata (Nine Deities of the Eight Directions of Space and the Centre), the Five Pandawa brothers, and possibly others. In the course of the fifteenth century, the bronze used for the manufacture of these lance finials was replaced by iron, a metal already used for weapons and tools. The tall representation of a blacksmith’s forge carved in stone from the fifteenth-century Candi Sukuh on Mount Lawu shows that lance finials were included in the blacksmith’s repertoire at that time. The smith is forging a kris, the dagger which had already acquired cult status by this period. Other iron objects he has also wrought are displayed on the rear wall. Among them can be recognized the lance finials Mahadewa’s snake, Maheswara’s hourglass-shaped drum and the club of Bima, one of the Pandawa brothers.
...
A careful survey of the documentation of nineteenth-century lance finials indicates the range of their designs seem to be unrestricted. They represent weapons of all kind, imaginary and ancestral, also animal heads biting onto a vertical dagger blade, and much more besides. Nevertheless, this wide repertoire of ancient emblems is still recognizable: the snake (naga), the wheel (cakra), the trident (trisula), the cakra, the wheel-shaped throwing disc of Wisnu now the Sun God, the Payal of Batara Guru, the Angkus, the elephant-steering hook used by the Sultan of Pajang, and Bima’s club, Gada Lukita. The elaborate series of lance finial designs contributed to grand courtly spectacles, characteristic of Javanese sovereignty. The consistency of certain designs down the centuries can be explained by the fact that the Javanese rulers in the Hindu-Buddhist and in the Islamic periods, counted the Hindu deities and the Pandawa’s in one of the two ancestral lines, namely: the left-hand genealogy in which rulers trace their ancestry back to the Prophet Adam via the last king of Majapahit, Brawijaya VII. Naturally, Islamic ancestors are also included. Some of the finials are the emblems pertaining to the divine ancestors, who used these to legitimate their rule in Java".

[Rick]

Is your trisula cast from bronze Kubur?

[A. G. Maisey]

Kubur, much of what you have quoted I can verify as accurate, a couple of things I am uncertain of.

Could you please provide your source? Thank you.


Rick, I think Kubur might be pointing out that in Jawa early casting was done in bronze, but later casting, ie, from sometime during the 15th century, was done in iron.


Quote:-
"--- In the course of the fifteenth century, the bronze used for the manufacture of these lance finials was replaced by iron, a metal already used for weapons and tools.---"


This was not a universal change over from bronze to iron. Casting is still carried on in Jawa, at the present time I believe always in bronze.

I have a keris that is cast in iron, these are exceptionally rare, I've only ever seen two, and a lot of people do not even know such things exist. I would not like to put a date on this cast blade, but my guess would be pre-1800.

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Kubur, much of what you have quoted I can verify as accurate, a couple of things I am uncertain of.

Could you please provide your source? Thank you.

Rick, I think Kubur might be pointing out that in Jawa early casting was done in bronze, but later casting, ie, from sometime during the 15th century, was done in iron.

Thank you, I'm happy that you read what I posted!

It's not my text, but short abstract of an excellent article that I found online.

The article is attached here.

[A. G. Maisey]

Thank you very much Kubur

[gp]

it looks like the approx. 18 cm long trisula's made from tombak ( alloy of copper and zinc) as many of the trisula's from Java and Sumatra, popular with the Betawi warriors and the in Srivijaya (Indonesian: Sriwijaya) empire.


Still used in Pencak Silat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q88UBDQaT8k