Relic of a Javanese kriss whith original warangka

[A. G. Maisey]

East Jawa/Madura mendak can look like Central Jawa mendak.

Central Jawa mendak can look like East Jawa/Madura mendak.

Solo mendak can look like Jogja mendak and vice versa.

Pesisiran mendak can look like anything at all.

Far East Jawa mendak --- like Blambangan --- can look like Bali wewer or incorporate elements of wewer design.

You need to look at the way a mendak is made to have a reasonable chance of guessing where it is from, for example, nearly all East Jawa/Madura mendak are made as a little cup, that is, no internal supporting construction. With mendak that have internal construction you need to ensure that they will fit the recess on the bottom of a hilt, or that where there is no recess, that the internal construction does not interfere with a neat seat onto the hilt base. Above all, you need to ensure that there is harmony of proportion and design, and that is not always easy.

Then, of course, we have solid cast or turned mendak, and they can be a real problem.

Personally, I have a bit of difficulty in looking at a picture of a mendak and saying it is one thing or the other, without qualification.

Here are some cast and turned mendak, some extremely old, some were excavated, and a few fine quality standard mendak for comparison.