Planning to make a wrongko

Johan van Zyl · 10th May 2017, 02:30 PM

Rasdan, of course it's not my intention to cause future keris archeological havoc, but I am laughing merrily at the scenario you sketched. You suggest I make the gambar in my own signature style, but let me tell you it's going to come out like that even if I don't mean it. At least I can attest that I have TRIED to follow all the kind pieces of advice the forum guys have proposed til now.

Johan van Zyl · 10th May 2017, 02:33 PM

I'm sorry to burden you all with more pics of my project so soon (I know there's lots more important stuff going on in our forum members' collections & discussions) but I'm feeling like a kid now, who's just won a big prize. The reason I say this is that I've been dreading the moment of joining the gandar to the gambar. What if I don't do it correctly & accurately and the join looks sloppy? Well, the job went well & I've got a burden off my shoulders! So I'd like to share my method with you, not to brag about my success but because I'm so relieved. I've got new enthusiasm now for the endless sanding procedure to make the join look neat on the outside.

The four pics will show. First I made a few cardboard templates and experimentally clipped holes into them that correspond to the four bambu pins in the gandar. From these I selected the one that fits best. Then I transferred the hole marks onto the end of the gambar with a pencil, following which I drilled pilot holes into the gambar. Of course, I had to secure the gambar on the vertical drill press platform and make sure the drill holes are made perpendicularly into the gambar join face. Then I changed to a bigger drill bit and expanded the pilot holes. You'll see from the 3rd & 4th pics that I have some reason to be elated. The epoxy has not been applied yet, there will come a time for that. Alan's suggestion will also still be put into practice.

I excitedly explained the steps I followed to my 82 year old sister living with us, and she had the following to say: "What a beautiful pink colour the wood is!" Pink indeed.

rasdan · 10th May 2017, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johan van Zyl

You suggest I make the gambar in my own signature style, but let me tell you it's going to come out like that even if I don't mean it.

Actually I think this is part of a natural process going on. It is very probable that a majority of wrangka (and also blade) styles what we currently have throughout the keris region is a result of copying. And copying form copies that also produces different designs along the way whether the maker realise or not. Anyhow thank you for sharing your project with us.

A. G. Maisey · 10th May 2017, 11:16 PM

Yes Rasdan you are so right.

Once the keris moves away from a major area of influence we can get enormous variation in dress styles. When it moves into a village environment the dress can sometimes not look anything like the dress that we find in the nearest major town, city or kraton.

Then we get the opinions.

At Candi Panataran near Blitar in East Jawa, there is a relief carving of a man with a keris, and the scabbard of that keris looks exactly like the type of scabbard that we recognise as Bugis now. The keris spread from Jawa to other places, so what did 14th century Javanese scabbards look like?

Yep, copying.

rasdan · 11th May 2017, 11:02 AM

I totally agree with you Alan. Creativity can go a long way it seems. Below is a picture of a statue that our fellow forumite Gustav uploaded a while ago.

I had forgotten the origin/age of this statue, (can Gustav or other forumite please help me on the origin of this one?) do you think the warangka relief at candi Panataran matches this warangka type Alan? This one looks like it is a sheath for keris buda. Even the top of the gonjo can be seen.

Gustav · 11th May 2017, 12:52 PM

It's in Museum Nasional in Jakarta, attributed to 15. cent. The proportions of the statue are quite cobby (especially the upper part of body), so it doesn't necessarily tell us about about the true proportions of Keris also. The sheath already looks similar to some older sheaths from European "Kunstkammer" collections.

A. G. Maisey · 11th May 2017, 01:18 PM

I would hesitate to guess what might be in it Rasdan. It is probably not a photographic representation, and as Gustav has said, it does have some features that echo early scabbards in European collections.

Here are another couple, ladrangans this time, from Candi Sukuh.

rasdan · 11th May 2017, 05:06 PM

Thank you Gustav and Alan. If the statue in the National Museum is also 15th century we cannot possibly be looking at buda keris on that statue. Another thing that interests me with that one is the selut that it used. Very similar with the ones we see in old bugis keris style.

It is very interesting to see that ladrangan style is already around in Candi Sukuh (15th century I think). I always have thought that ladrangan is a more recent style.

10th May 2017, 02:33 PM	#2
Johan van Zyl Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: I live in Gordon's Bay, a village in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. Posts: 126	I'm sorry to burden you all with more pics of my project so soon (I know there's lots more important stuff going on in our forum members' collections & discussions) but I'm feeling like a kid now, who's just won a big prize. The reason I say this is that I've been dreading the moment of joining the gandar to the gambar. What if I don't do it correctly & accurately and the join looks sloppy? Well, the job went well & I've got a burden off my shoulders! So I'd like to share my method with you, not to brag about my success but because I'm so relieved. I've got new enthusiasm now for the endless sanding procedure to make the join look neat on the outside. The four pics will show. First I made a few cardboard templates and experimentally clipped holes into them that correspond to the four bambu pins in the gandar. From these I selected the one that fits best. Then I transferred the hole marks onto the end of the gambar with a pencil, following which I drilled pilot holes into the gambar. Of course, I had to secure the gambar on the vertical drill press platform and make sure the drill holes are made perpendicularly into the gambar join face. Then I changed to a bigger drill bit and expanded the pilot holes. You'll see from the 3rd & 4th pics that I have some reason to be elated. The epoxy has not been applied yet, there will come a time for that. Alan's suggestion will also still be put into practice. I excitedly explained the steps I followed to my 82 year old sister living with us, and she had the following to say: "What a beautiful pink colour the wood is!" Pink indeed. Attached Images

10th May 2017, 11:16 PM	#4
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,019	Yes Rasdan you are so right. Once the keris moves away from a major area of influence we can get enormous variation in dress styles. When it moves into a village environment the dress can sometimes not look anything like the dress that we find in the nearest major town, city or kraton. Then we get the opinions. At Candi Panataran near Blitar in East Jawa, there is a relief carving of a man with a keris, and the scabbard of that keris looks exactly like the type of scabbard that we recognise as Bugis now. The keris spread from Jawa to other places, so what did 14th century Javanese scabbards look like? Yep, copying. Attached Images Last edited by A. G. Maisey; 10th May 2017 at 11:48 PM.

11th May 2017, 11:02 AM	#5
rasdan Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur Posts: 369	I totally agree with you Alan. Creativity can go a long way it seems. Below is a picture of a statue that our fellow forumite Gustav uploaded a while ago. I had forgotten the origin/age of this statue, (can Gustav or other forumite please help me on the origin of this one?) do you think the warangka relief at candi Panataran matches this warangka type Alan? This one looks like it is a sheath for keris buda. Even the top of the gonjo can be seen. Attached Images

11th May 2017, 01:18 PM	#7
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,019	I would hesitate to guess what might be in it Rasdan. It is probably not a photographic representation, and as Gustav has said, it does have some features that echo early scabbards in European collections. Here are another couple, ladrangans this time, from Candi Sukuh. Attached Images

10th May 2017, 02:30 PM	#1
Johan van Zyl Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: I live in Gordon's Bay, a village in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. Posts: 126	Rasdan, of course it's not my intention to cause future keris archeological havoc, but I am laughing merrily at the scenario you sketched. You suggest I make the gambar in my own signature style, but let me tell you it's going to come out like that even if I don't mean it. At least I can attest that I have TRIED to follow all the kind pieces of advice the forum guys have proposed til now.

11th May 2017, 12:52 PM	#6
Gustav Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 1,280	It's in Museum Nasional in Jakarta, attributed to 15. cent. The proportions of the statue are quite cobby (especially the upper part of body), so it doesn't necessarily tell us about about the true proportions of Keris also. The sheath already looks similar to some older sheaths from European "Kunstkammer" collections.

11th May 2017, 05:06 PM	#8
rasdan Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kuala Lumpur Posts: 369	Thank you Gustav and Alan. If the statue in the National Museum is also 15th century we cannot possibly be looking at buda keris on that statue. Another thing that interests me with that one is the selut that it used. Very similar with the ones we see in old bugis keris style. It is very interesting to see that ladrangan style is already around in Candi Sukuh (15th century I think). I always have thought that ladrangan is a more recent style.