Nice Java Keris?

[Greybeard]

Sorry, Michael -- I just noticed that I misspelt your name ...

Regards,

Heinz

[A. G. Maisey]

Michael, you have asked for opinions, and I will apologise in advance for mine. This is necessary because I look at keris in a different way to most people within the community that forms this Forum, and what I will write will not not be quite as complimentary as that which has been written by others.

I am inclined to believe that the wrongko would date from prior to WWII, but it has probably been fitted with a new pendok. I do not think that this wrongko was made specifically for this blade, but originally had a smaller blade fitted to it. The tell is that in a wrongko made for a specific blade both the buntut urang and the sirah cecak should mate perfectly to the level of the top of the wrongko, in the case of this keris that is not the case, the sirah cecak sits below the level of the top of the wrongko. The previous blade in this wrongko would have been a smaller one, because the mouth of the wrongko does not appear to have been filled. This opinion could only be confirmed by physical examination.

As we all recognise, it is difficult to classify and appraise a blade from photographs alone, however, in the case of your blade there are a few things that can be said.

This blade is in the style of Mataram, but it is not an old Mataram blade of either Senopaten or Sultan Agungan style.

The quality of the garap is only so-so, the kembang kacang is weak, there has been quite a bit of erosion take place, but the pamor is still more or less intact. If I handled this blade, I feel that I would probably classify it as Koripan.

Koripan is a blacksmith's village near Jogja, that made blades in the style of Mataram, and as commercial production. It is still functioning as a blacksmith's village and makes tools that can be found in the markets all over Central Jawa.

I would need to closely examine the blade before I would be prepared to say that the gonjo is not original. Very often a gonjo was made from a separate billet, and this was particularly the case with commercially produced blades. Similarly, in a bespoke blade, the gonjo would sometimes be made from different material, and with a different pamor, at the request of the client. To have a reasonable chance of guessing if this gonjo is a replacement or not, close physical examination would be necessary.

With keris, as with virtually all other items that are collected, the price will indicate the quality. Good keris, whether old or recent, cost good money, and in recent times have become very scarce. I have not seen a good quality sleeper in years.

However, with all that said, this remains a fair example of a Central Javanese keris in the Surakarta style.

[Jean]

Hello Alan,
Thank you for your thorough and interesting evaluation of this kris. Could you tell us from and until approximately which dates did the Koripan smiths manufacture such types of blades? I think that I may have a number of these blades in my collection.
Thank you and best regards
Jean

[A. G. Maisey]

Jean, I don't think that this is known for a fact.

I have been told from the first half of the 18th century through to about 1825, however, other people have claimed that they were still producing blades into the beginning of the 20th century, but I have never seen a blade that could be classified as Koripan that was so young as that. The condition that most of them are in, I'd be prepared to accept that they might have begun at least around the beginning of the 18th century.

There are an enormous number of the Koripan blades around.In most cases if a dealer in Central Jawa offers one for sale they will be presented as Mataram, and they are Mataram style, but bigger, coarser and less refined than any of the genuine Mataram sub-types.

[VVV]

Thanks to all that has responded, shared their experience and helped me with specific comments!
This has been very helpful and educating. Now and then you have to give it a try even if Javanese blades aren't among my main collection fields.

Michael

[David]

Originally Posted by VVV

This has been very helpful and educating. Now and then you have to give it a try even if Javanese blades aren't among my main collection fields.

Michael, while it is IMO desirable to learn everything possible about any keris we own and i personally strive to take the bad news with the good, ultimately the only thing that really matters is whether or not you like the blade. For what ever reason you found yourself drawn to this particular keris. I have many keris in my collection that are far from being masterpieces of their form, yet they called to me for one reason or another and for most of them i am still very happy to have them in my collection. I think there is more going on with keris then merely technical artistic excellence.

[VVV]

So true David, that was the reason I bought it from the beginning and why I will keep it.

Michael