Question on this keris... how many luks etc

A. G. Maisey · 29th August 2018, 10:55 PM

David, Bejo asked this question:-

"Is it Majapahit keris or maybe in the same era?"

This indicates to me that Bejo is thinking in the way that most keris conscious people think about keris tangguh classifications, he is equating the classification of Majapahit with the era of Majapahit, that is , pre-1525. Thus, my response to Bejo's question was related to the idea of this keris originating in the region of East Jawa that was under the control of the Majapahit court pre-1525.

However, if we take a more relaxed approach and pretend that we are a keris dealer in a market somewhere in Jawa, then perhaps we might be able to convince somebody who has insufficient experience to believe that this keris can be classified as Mojo. It does look a little bit like what a lot of people would call Mojo. But it is neither pre-1525, nor classifiable as Mojo.

There are a number of reasons for me to take this position, and to mention all of them and try to explain all of them would use more time than I am prepared to put into this answer. So I will be brief:- material, pamor distribution, blumbangan all do not support a Mojo classification. The classification cannot be supported in either the classical belief system sense, or the logical historical sense, but it might be able to be supported in the commercial pasar sense.

I am prepared to give an opinion on what it is not, my opinion on what it might be can be read as hedged with the usual qualifications. Probably East Jawa, pre-1900, post 1700.

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29th August 2018, 10:55 PM	#7
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	David, Bejo asked this question:- "Is it Majapahit keris or maybe in the same era?" This indicates to me that Bejo is thinking in the way that most keris conscious people think about keris tangguh classifications, he is equating the classification of Majapahit with the era of Majapahit, that is , pre-1525. Thus, my response to Bejo's question was related to the idea of this keris originating in the region of East Jawa that was under the control of the Majapahit court pre-1525. However, if we take a more relaxed approach and pretend that we are a keris dealer in a market somewhere in Jawa, then perhaps we might be able to convince somebody who has insufficient experience to believe that this keris can be classified as Mojo. It does look a little bit like what a lot of people would call Mojo. But it is neither pre-1525, nor classifiable as Mojo. There are a number of reasons for me to take this position, and to mention all of them and try to explain all of them would use more time than I am prepared to put into this answer. So I will be brief:- material, pamor distribution, blumbangan all do not support a Mojo classification. The classification cannot be supported in either the classical belief system sense, or the logical historical sense, but it might be able to be supported in the commercial pasar sense. I am prepared to give an opinion on what it is not, my opinion on what it might be can be read as hedged with the usual qualifications. Probably East Jawa, pre-1900, post 1700.