Twisted rods

[A. G. Maisey]

If I apply the Surakarta tangguh indicators to this keris blade, it is unmistakably Madura --- which makes it East Jawa.

[David]

Here is another Bali dressed keris with pamor tangkis. I am curious what the consensus might be on the origins of this blade. It is perfectly fitted to the sarong so clearly this dress was made specifically for the blade. Length is jusrt shy of 38cm.

[A. G. Maisey]

This is a brief summary taken from Surakarta sources of indicators for a keris blade made in Madura:-

coarse iron,

thick pamor, distinct step from iron to contrasting pamor material ( this is not evident when a blade is polished),

rotan (rattan) shaped cross section,

rather upright,

penitis/penatas (this is the absolute point) is too small,

distance from final luk to point is long,

gonjo is ugly-rather straight, looks awkward, buntut urang narrow & small,

gandhik is short, low, small, thin,

usually no tikel alis,

very small kembang kacang,

blumbangan not well defined,

odo-odo rarely found,

kruwingen shallow if it exists at all,

wadidang runs on middle line

Madura work is overall very poor work, only the work of Mpu Koso is any good, Mpu Macan was also good, but his production was very small.

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This is a summary of a summary, & that initial summary was compiled from my notes for my guidance, more as memory hooks than as a guide book.

The above is the way in which a very highly respected ahli keris in Surakarta during the period from about 1970 through to about 2010 would look at and assess characteristics in order to form an opinion on whether or not a keris blade had been made in Madura. It was not, is not necessary to get a 100% agreement, the opinion is formed upon balance of characteristics. The period I have named is what I know for certain from personal experience, but if we go back to earlier sources we will find similar indicators mentioned.

Historically Bali has had strong ties with Madura, & still does. King Baturengang had the desire of conquest & colonisation, but this did not eventuate, however, from the late 16th century, & seemingly continuing for a very long time thereafter, there were a number of small Balinese incursions into Madura, and there are some small areas of Madura where the inhabitants are of Balinese mixed descent.

It is not at all unusual to find Madura & Javanese keris in Balinese dress. Additionally, Bali had a large part of Lombok under its control for many years, and Balinese keris made in Lombok are virtually impossible to differentiate from Balinese keris made in Bali, keris used in Balinese dress but not made by a Balinese mpu can sometimes be identified, or rather given the probability of having been made in Lombok.

[Gustav]

Yes, I also thought - East Java/Madura.

Unusual in that Madura context for me actually is the Pamor - from what I see from Madura it normally is coarse, broad thick layers, somewhat wild even if well controlled. This one is really minuscule work.

Also Kanyut seems a bit long, but this is likely an older blade.

[A. G. Maisey]

In every keris classification there are variations from maker to maker & from period to period within the life of the same maker, and over a period of time that covers the entire classification, in addition, we do not seek 100% compliance, we seek a dominant presence. It is perhaps taking a note of everything & deciding if a single piece fits within the total population, to do this one must have a lot of background experience.