Singular Madura Keris for comment

Athanase · 27th January 2019, 09:26 PM

Hello

I recently had the chance to acquire this Keris. When I saw him, I fell in love for his wrongko.

The pendok is also very unusual. It is simple, in silver brass, without decoration except for this floral plate (copper alloy? ) which is welded on it.
This pendok is obviously not the original because its opening is slightly too narrow and not fits with the lower part of the wrongko.

The handle seems to be ivory but I do not know what species (It is not elephant or hippopotamus and it seems a little different from the sperm whale).

The Mendak is very beautiful but does not look antique.

The blade (34cm) fits perfectly in the sheath.

A. G. Maisey · 27th January 2019, 11:49 PM

Very nice indeed, I'm rather partial to this type of ensemble myself.

I am uncertain if the blade is Madura, in the photo it looks more like Jawa, but that is only a minor quibble, it is old, it is in good condition, but would be much improved by a clean & stain.

The pendok is missing its lis, the little collar that should be at its top, if this lis was not missing, the fit would be perfect. If this keris were mine I would be refitting the pendok to achieve a perfect fit without the lis. This fit would be achieved by very careful inletting of the pendok to the bottom of the gambar.

The mendak is pre-WWII and absolutely correct.

I do not know what the ivory type is, but I have been told that it is dugong.

I have been told by people who live in villages near Sumenep in Madura that this type of wrongko was normally carved by the owner, as such, there is no completely uniform style, they all vary a bit, and constitute a form of folk art.

Jean · 28th January 2019, 08:06 AM

I agree with Alan, this is a beautiful old kris, few minor comments:
. the angle of the pesi & hilt does not perfectly match with the base of the blade (see second row of pictures).
. Although the blade fits perfectly into the scabbard slot, I wonder whether they are originally matching as the ganja looks too long as compared to the gambar on the back side, however I already saw such fitting with Madurese krisses.
. I hope that the pendok can be removed from the gandar for fitting them properly, and there is very little margin available as the blade is almost as long as the warangka.
Regards

A. G. Maisey · 28th January 2019, 10:28 AM

Jean, the pesi angle is extremely common with old keris in situ, the people who actually wear them don't seem to worry much about this, but personally I find it untidy, it is a simple matter to bend the pesi a fraction, heat treatment never includes the pesi. Very often with an old keris I find I can bend the pesi with my fingers, if the pesi is too thick for this, use a bench vice with aluminium jaw liners , put the blade in horizontal and very gently apply pressure to the tip of the blade to achieve the correct angle.

This type of fitting of blade to gambar is common with East Jawa keris, don't forget, this wrongko is unlikely to have been made by a professional, its just a matter of proportion, and this type of dress is not subject to the relatively strict dictates of the kratons.

If the blade is too long to allow the pendok to be moved up a few mille, and frankly, I cannot judge this from the photos, but if it is a little too long, I guess there is no alternative but to make a new collar to fill the gap, but I would not solder it in place, I'd leave it as a separate piece.

As I said, I cannot really judge if the blade is too long to allow the pendok to move up or not, but I just did a measurement of the photo, and my guess is that there will probably be more than enough length in the pendok to move it up.

Jean · 28th January 2019, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

As I said, I cannot really judge if the blade is too long to allow the pendok to move up or not, but I just did a measurement of the photo, and my guess is that there will probably be more than enough length in the pendok to move it up.

Yes, probably indeed, the pendok needs to be moved-up by about 6-7 mm and ground on the 2 sides because of the curvature of the gambar to pendok joint. The top left flower of the decoration motif may be slightly ground but it is not a serious issue.
Regards

Jean · 28th January 2019, 11:35 AM

Athanase, did you check if the slot in the scabbard was recently cut or not? This will indicate if the blade and scabbard are originally matching or not.
Regards

David · 28th January 2019, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

If the blade is too long to allow the pendok to be moved up a few mille, and frankly, I cannot judge this from the photos, but if it is a little too long, I guess there is no alternative but to make a new collar to fill the gap, but I would not solder it in place, I'd leave it as a separate piece.

If i were to do anything this would be my suggestion from the get-go. As both a collector from outside of the culture as well as someone with a conservator's viewpoint i usually prefer not to do any work that permanently changes the piece structurally and cannot be reversed if one wanted to return to piece to the originally collected appearance. A new, separate collar would serve this piece well and should not be too difficult for a skilled craftsman working outside of the culture to construct.

David · 28th January 2019, 05:13 PM

Oh, i btw, i love this keris, but do agree with both Alan and Jean that is deserves a good cleaning and new warangan and, if possible, an adjustment to the pesi to give the blade it's proper angle and a more correct "posture". Ideally, seeing the blade as representative of the man, i believe the angle at which a it is set should not be too upright as to be impertinent, nor too bend as to show weakness.
But in my book this is still a beautiful and unique ensemble.

27th January 2019, 09:26 PM	#1
Athanase Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Paris (France) Posts: 408	Singular Madura Keris for comment Hello I recently had the chance to acquire this Keris. When I saw him, I fell in love for his wrongko. The pendok is also very unusual. It is simple, in silver brass, without decoration except for this floral plate (copper alloy? ) which is welded on it. This pendok is obviously not the original because its opening is slightly too narrow and not fits with the lower part of the wrongko. The handle seems to be ivory but I do not know what species (It is not elephant or hippopotamus and it seems a little different from the sperm whale). The Mendak is very beautiful but does not look antique. The blade (34cm) fits perfectly in the sheath. Attached Images

27th January 2019, 11:49 PM	#2
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,887	Very nice indeed, I'm rather partial to this type of ensemble myself. I am uncertain if the blade is Madura, in the photo it looks more like Jawa, but that is only a minor quibble, it is old, it is in good condition, but would be much improved by a clean & stain. The pendok is missing its lis, the little collar that should be at its top, if this lis was not missing, the fit would be perfect. If this keris were mine I would be refitting the pendok to achieve a perfect fit without the lis. This fit would be achieved by very careful inletting of the pendok to the bottom of the gambar. The mendak is pre-WWII and absolutely correct. I do not know what the ivory type is, but I have been told that it is dugong. I have been told by people who live in villages near Sumenep in Madura that this type of wrongko was normally carved by the owner, as such, there is no completely uniform style, they all vary a bit, and constitute a form of folk art.

28th January 2019, 08:06 AM	#3
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	I agree with Alan, this is a beautiful old kris, few minor comments: . the angle of the pesi & hilt does not perfectly match with the base of the blade (see second row of pictures). . Although the blade fits perfectly into the scabbard slot, I wonder whether they are originally matching as the ganja looks too long as compared to the gambar on the back side, however I already saw such fitting with Madurese krisses. . I hope that the pendok can be removed from the gandar for fitting them properly, and there is very little margin available as the blade is almost as long as the warangka. Regards

28th January 2019, 10:28 AM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,887	Jean, the pesi angle is extremely common with old keris in situ, the people who actually wear them don't seem to worry much about this, but personally I find it untidy, it is a simple matter to bend the pesi a fraction, heat treatment never includes the pesi. Very often with an old keris I find I can bend the pesi with my fingers, if the pesi is too thick for this, use a bench vice with aluminium jaw liners , put the blade in horizontal and very gently apply pressure to the tip of the blade to achieve the correct angle. This type of fitting of blade to gambar is common with East Jawa keris, don't forget, this wrongko is unlikely to have been made by a professional, its just a matter of proportion, and this type of dress is not subject to the relatively strict dictates of the kratons. If the blade is too long to allow the pendok to be moved up a few mille, and frankly, I cannot judge this from the photos, but if it is a little too long, I guess there is no alternative but to make a new collar to fill the gap, but I would not solder it in place, I'd leave it as a separate piece. As I said, I cannot really judge if the blade is too long to allow the pendok to move up or not, but I just did a measurement of the photo, and my guess is that there will probably be more than enough length in the pendok to move it up.

28th January 2019, 11:35 AM	#6
Jean Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,740	Athanase, did you check if the slot in the scabbard was recently cut or not? This will indicate if the blade and scabbard are originally matching or not. Regards

28th January 2019, 05:13 PM	#8
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,119	Oh, i btw, i love this keris, but do agree with both Alan and Jean that is deserves a good cleaning and new warangan and, if possible, an adjustment to the pesi to give the blade it's proper angle and a more correct "posture". Ideally, seeing the blade as representative of the man, i believe the angle at which a it is set should not be too upright as to be impertinent, nor too bend as to show weakness. But in my book this is still a beautiful and unique ensemble.