Tell me about Gatot

[matahati]

As I glance through my appartment window, I wonder if Gustave Eiffel had a keris in mind when he designed his tower.
I am not a keris collector per say: I only have one. Yet the subject has fascinated me since childhood and when, some twenty years ago, I started travelling extensivelly through central and east Java for my job, I decided it was time for me to learn more about these uncommon blades. As my interest for Java grew, so did my desire to acquire a keris. Yet, it occured to me there was no point in merely going to a store and buying a keris, however magnificient it might be - price not withstanding. Rather, I believed that if there was a keris out there for me, we would somehow find each other and that the match would come naturally when the time was right.
Twelve years ago, one morning in Situbondo, on the northern coast of East Java, the long awaited meeting took place. I will skip the strange set of circumstances which made that reunion possible, suffice it to say that the mas kawin was right and that we "wed" on that day. I called him Gatot, from the famous Gatot Kaca, because he travelled with me through the air to find his new home, an ocean and two continents away.
My knowledge about Gatot is pretty limited: I'm sure your learned crowd of passionate afficionados will help me to shed some light on who is Gatot.
As far as I can tell, it's a central Java keris lurus, probably from Solo - at least in terms of appearance, not withstanding the fact it might have been made elsewhere in the style of a Solo keris. The intricate nomenclature of the Dapur escapes me a bit but Carubuk Lenceng (Ensiklopedi keris p.123) appears to be a good match: the ganja seems too long for a Tilam Upih. It seemed strange to me that such a basic Dapur should be chosen for a keris which was to be addorned of such an intricate Pamor, but it might have been only to let the pattern of the blade stand on its own. A mlulah pamor, bulu ayam genre, but the exact pattern seems to evade description - please refer to the enclosed pics. Just last week, I stumbled on a picture http://www.indotalisman.com/Kelabangb2.JPG of Pamor called Kelabang Sayuta which looked pretty close but not quite. Any suggestion, on the name but more importantly, on how the motif is created? It looks as if layers of U curved mille feuille of iron and nickel were somehow stacked on both sides of a central core, with an inner layer of softer blackened iron which seems to have been etched to let the Pamor stand out in low relief. The wayviness of the pattern varies through the blade, creating another surface effect towards the tip of the keris.
For over a decade, I've been studying this keris and I don't feel like I know much. Can anyone tell me how it's made? I read on the forum about Pandi Keris from Madura, what is it exactly, and could it be such a keris? After all I found in in Situbondo, a 15mn drive to a small ferry to Madura island between Jangkar and Kalianget. I can't figure out its age: the tip looks pretty worn, but the chiseling around the Pejetan seem quite sharp. How about the Pamor Munggul controversy I read about a while ago in these pages. As I was reading the thread about it, I realized Gatot had something quite like that, something I thought looked like an eye, perfectly placed in the center of the blade, with a manner of orbit surrounding it. Is this what we're talking about ? What is it? And anyway, is it Timbul or random?
Enough say. I hope you will enjoy the attached pictures and that you can help me reaching new levels of understanding of my beloved Gatot.
I can't wait to hear from you. Matahati.