Silver Keris Coteng with old restoration

Roland_M · 6th October 2015, 12:03 PM

Hello all,

Here is another member of my Keris family.
Recently acquired and after some hours of gently removing the thick black patina a high quality figure appeared.

I added one picture together with a beautiful Bali Keris to demonstrate, how small the Coteng is.

Parts of the figure and scabbard are obviously non original. The lower part of the figure and the silver on the mouth of the warangka (with a thick black patina) are result of a very old restoration. I believe, this is a European restoration from the 19th ct. or earlier and the maker had no idea and no model, so we probably see a very well made European interpretation of a Keris. This increases the historical value of this Keris for me.

The blade is another very exciting part of this Keris, it is obviously very old, the Ganja is lost. Despite the fact it is a quite thick blade, the opposite side of the Gandik is thin like paper and rusted through.
This blade furthermore have 3D waves, they are bended also in the z-direction, similar to a Keris Pejetan.
I have problems to count the number of luk on this Keris, I count 10 luk, which must be wrong. Which number is correct, 9 or 11? Or is it an extremely old blade with an even number of luk?

I would be happy, to see some comments, especially to my theory about the restoration and the blade itself.

Thank you for reading; I hope it was not too boring and many thanks for every comment.

Best wishes,
Roland

Jean · 6th October 2015, 01:48 PM

Hello Roland,
To me this blade clearly has 11 luks (the tip is worn-out) and it looks javanese, may be in Pengging style because of the deep luks. It is a pity that the ganja is missing!
Regards

Gustav · 6th October 2015, 02:56 PM

I suppose the hilt repair is done locally.

The Sogokan are a bit long for a Javanese blade.

Nice hilt, even with a repair.

David · 6th October 2015, 06:01 PM

A very nice silver coteng hilt. The sheath repair is well done, but i really couldn't comment as to whether or not it was a local or European repair. Not exactly a "restoration" as missing pieces of the sheath have not been restored, but it has a nice quality look over all.
It is a shame about the missing gonjo. I personally have a hard time getting too excited about incomplete blades. You might be able to commission a replacement if the keris is an important one for you.
On luks i would count this as 11. The tip had obviously suffered some erosion to account for the confusion on your count.
I am afraid i don't understand what you mean by your comparison to Keris Pejetan. I see nothing in your blade from these photographs that looks like impressed fingertips.

Sajen · 6th October 2015, 10:34 PM

Hi Roland,

agree, it's a very interesting coteng with all the repairs, equal if done locally or later in Europe. And I agree with the others, clearly a 11 luk blade, the last curve is worn.
And a very good observation from Gustav, the blade don't need to be a Java blade, it look more like an old Palembang blade IMVHO. To bad that the gonjo is missing.

David, I think that Roland mean with the comparison to pejetan that the blade has a sinus like wave along the length, I have seen this before and think that there is name also for a blade like this.

Regards,
Detlef

A. G. Maisey · 6th October 2015, 11:24 PM

In respect of blade origin:- I can see nothing in this blade that would militate against a Javanese origin. True, the sogokan are a little longer than usual for Jawa, but I have seen innumerable examples of variation from the norm in Javanese blades, and Balinese also, for that matter, not only in sogokan, but in all possible ways. Personally, I'd be happy to accept this as Javanese until it could be shown to be other than that.

6th October 2015, 12:03 PM	#1
Roland_M Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Germany Posts: 525	Silver Keris Coteng with old restoration Hello all, Here is another member of my Keris family. Recently acquired and after some hours of gently removing the thick black patina a high quality figure appeared. I added one picture together with a beautiful Bali Keris to demonstrate, how small the Coteng is. Parts of the figure and scabbard are obviously non original. The lower part of the figure and the silver on the mouth of the warangka (with a thick black patina) are result of a very old restoration. I believe, this is a European restoration from the 19th ct. or earlier and the maker had no idea and no model, so we probably see a very well made European interpretation of a Keris. This increases the historical value of this Keris for me. The blade is another very exciting part of this Keris, it is obviously very old, the Ganja is lost. Despite the fact it is a quite thick blade, the opposite side of the Gandik is thin like paper and rusted through. This blade furthermore have 3D waves, they are bended also in the z-direction, similar to a Keris Pejetan. I have problems to count the number of luk on this Keris, I count 10 luk, which must be wrong. Which number is correct, 9 or 11? Or is it an extremely old blade with an even number of luk? I would be happy, to see some comments, especially to my theory about the restoration and the blade itself. Thank you for reading; I hope it was not too boring and many thanks for every comment. Best wishes, Roland Attached Images

6th October 2015, 01:48 PM	#2
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	Blade Hello Roland, To me this blade clearly has 11 luks (the tip is worn-out) and it looks javanese, may be in Pengging style because of the deep luks. It is a pity that the ganja is missing! Regards

6th October 2015, 02:56 PM	#3
Gustav Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,273	I suppose the hilt repair is done locally. The Sogokan are a bit long for a Javanese blade. Nice hilt, even with a repair.

6th October 2015, 06:01 PM	#4
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,209	A very nice silver coteng hilt. The sheath repair is well done, but i really couldn't comment as to whether or not it was a local or European repair. Not exactly a "restoration" as missing pieces of the sheath have not been restored, but it has a nice quality look over all. It is a shame about the missing gonjo. I personally have a hard time getting too excited about incomplete blades. You might be able to commission a replacement if the keris is an important one for you. On luks i would count this as 11. The tip had obviously suffered some erosion to account for the confusion on your count. I am afraid i don't understand what you mean by your comparison to Keris Pejetan. I see nothing in your blade from these photographs that looks like impressed fingertips.

6th October 2015, 10:34 PM	#5
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 9,164	Hi Roland, agree, it's a very interesting coteng with all the repairs, equal if done locally or later in Europe. And I agree with the others, clearly a 11 luk blade, the last curve is worn. And a very good observation from Gustav, the blade don't need to be a Java blade, it look more like an old Palembang blade IMVHO. To bad that the gonjo is missing. David, I think that Roland mean with the comparison to pejetan that the blade has a sinus like wave along the length, I have seen this before and think that there is name also for a blade like this. Regards, Detlef

6th October 2015, 11:24 PM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,989	In respect of blade origin:- I can see nothing in this blade that would militate against a Javanese origin. True, the sogokan are a little longer than usual for Jawa, but I have seen innumerable examples of variation from the norm in Javanese blades, and Balinese also, for that matter, not only in sogokan, but in all possible ways. Personally, I'd be happy to accept this as Javanese until it could be shown to be other than that.