New Keris for info

[Rick]

It does look rather fresh Jean, still I'd take that blade in a heartbeat.
It looks nicely executed (no pun intended) .

[A. G. Maisey]

Several things.

Pamor is koro welang tambal. This is a popular pamor in Jawa and Madura.

The greneng appears to be more Javanese than anything else.

Keris panjang were made in Central Jawa after, probably, 1850, and certainly in the PBX era. Some of these keris did carry pamor, but I have never seen nor heard of a complex pamor miring in one of these Javanese keris panjang.

Pamor koro welang is a complex pamor miring.

I have both owned and seen quite a few keris panjang, both with and without pamor, in various styles of dress. These styles include several Javanese styles of dress and Bugis/Peninsula styles of dress. I have never seen a keris panjang in Balinese dress.

There is a distinct tendency amongst present day collectors to want blades that are identifiable as coming from a particular geographic location to be dressed in wrongko and hilt from that location. Taken as a guiding principle this could possibly be acceptable. But in the real world it ignores the way things truly are in keris bearing societies.

For many & various reasons keris blades move around the entire keris bearing world, and indeed, far beyond the keris bearing world. Javanese blades were exported all over S.E. Asia, and as far afield as Sri Lanka, as far back as the 15th century.

We can routinely expect to find keris blades from one area in old keris dress that is associated with another area. In fact, when we move away from centers of population, and areas that were under the influence of one royal house or another, we will find genuine, old, highly regarded keris in a mixture of dress that the previous owners have used, and that reflects the changing fortunes or associations of the previous owners, rather than any geographical influences. For a broadly based collection, perhaps the very best criterion is one of quality.

[David]

I had assumed this was indeed a more contemporary blade Jean, and can't really use that as a criticism against this keris. I don't think Marius presented it as an antique. I just find it beautiful and well crafted.
As for the dress it is presented in, yes Alan, we can indeed find keris in old keris dress associated with other areas. But what we have here is a keris panjang that you see as possibly having Javanese origins dressed in a Palembang sheath with a Malaysian Tajong hilt. Firstly tajong keris have their own cultural norms as to the form of the sheath as well as the type of blade they contain. So now we have this Malay hilt form on a keris panjang. The panjang is in a Palembang sheath that is of the panjang type so if it is fitted properly i think we can consider that a good match. But this is not an regular keris. Unless i understand the form incorrectly a keris panjang designates a certain status, does it not? Certainly we do find genuine, old, highly regarded keris in a mixture of dress, but where would a status keris like a panjang be considered appropriate with a tajong hilt? It seems far more likely to me that this keris was dressed with what was available in the dealer's closet than for any authentic usage. I would still be looking for a replacement hilt if it were mine, but it is still a nice keris to look at as is.

[A. G. Maisey]

David, I have absolutely no critisism of this keris at all.

None.

The blade is indeed finely crafted. No dispute about that at all.

Yes, it could be a dealer's montage, and in this day and age, that applies to many more things than just keris, and it possibly goes without saying that with virtually everything we look we need to have this idea in the back of our minds as we look.

Yes, in the society of origin, the keris panjang probably did have a status level attached to it, but did this status level transfer, along with the keris form, to other societies where the form appears? In so far as Central Jawa is concerned, I can pretty definitely say that it did not.

In respect of this particular complete keris, my assumption is that it has been put together at some time during the last 100 years, it certainly does not look pre-1900 to me.

If that is the case, I personally would be reluctant to tag this keris as anything other than what we can see. I would not assume a dealer's meddling, I would not assume the actions of a private owner in a keris bearing society, nor would I assume the tastes of a collector.

To me this keris is exactly as it is, and able to be described in terms of its individual elements. Anything other than that is pure assumption.

Then, of course, we have the long and continuing association of Palembang with Central Jawa. I personally do not find it strange for a blade from anywhere at all to be presented in Palembang dress.

But is this dress Palembang? To me, it looks Palembangish, ie a Sumatran style of dress that has some echoes of Palembang, and the hilt also looks more like an echo than an original --- not that I am specialist in this field of Sumatra, nor of kingfisher hilts, so don't take these comments of mine as being even verging upon gospel. Perhaps others may care to look just a whisker more closely at the images?

[Jean]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

But is this dress Palembang? To me, it looks Palembangish, ie a Sumatran style of dress that has some echoes of Palembang, and the hilt also looks more like an echo than an original --- not that I am specialist in this field of Sumatra, nor of kingfisher hilts, so don't take these comments of mine as being even verging upon gospel. Perhaps others may care to look just a whisker more closely at the images?

Yes, Palembangish sarong, Tagongish hilt, newish panjangish/ Javanish blade, and tambalish pamor! A nice piece but not suitable for an old-fashioned colector like myself...
Regards

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Jean

A nice piece but not suitable for an old-fashioned colector like myself...

Have to say the same for myself. I think that the keris in question was created in Madura. Like said, not my cup of tea. And I doubt a little bit the age of 40 years.

Regards,
Detlef

[A. G. Maisey]

Perceptive Detlef, but it is wise not to forget that Madura is a part of East Jawa, and these days, connected by a bridge. Things that at one time might have been thought of in exclusively Madura terms, have, for as long as I have been going to Jawa, and for a considerable period prior to that, perhaps have been better thought of as 'Jawa Timur'.

David, I am not suggesting that this keris under discussion is not just as you comment. However, in respect of these kingfisher hilts appearing on blades other than one specific form, and with scabbards other than one specific form, I have had, and I think I still do have, examples of complete keris that have been together for lengthy periods of time and that do have this hilt form coupled with other than the correct component parts. The combination in mine, and in others I have seen, is usually with a Bugis style wrongko, and at least in mine, with the hilt firmly in place but back to front.

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

David, I have absolutely no critisism of this keris at all.

None.

The blade is indeed finely crafted. No dispute about that at all.


Yes, in the society of origin, the keris panjang probably did have a status level attached to it, but did this status level transfer, along with the keris form, to other societies where the form appears? In so far as Central Jawa is concerned, I can pretty definitely say that it did not.

Alan, do i understand you correctly to say that keris panjang from Central Jawa made post 1850 and in the PBX era did not have any special societal applications as it did in Sumatra? Just anybody would order and carry a keris panjang in that society and time?
BTW, when i spoke of criticism of the blade i was directing my comment specifically to Jean's comments, not your own.
Frankly you seem far more generous with possible age than i would be here. to my eye this blade, though finely crafted, seems more likely to be a contemporary one, though, of course, an in-hand examination might make me decide otherwise. And if, as Jean and yourself point out, "the Palembangish sarong, Tagongish hilt, newish panjangish/ Javanish blade, and tambalish pamor", it seems far more likely to be that this ensemble came together more recently than not. 100 years ago i do not believe people were carving "Tagongish" hilts, were as today we find many carvers in both Madura and Jawa having a go at that style. Though admittedly i am not enough of an aficionado of tajong style to know if this hilt is a true Tajong hilt or not.

[kai]

This is not a genuine Tajong hilt - very likely an Indo copy.

Regards,
Kai

[A. G. Maisey]

Pretty much so David.

During the PBX era, and I think beginning perhaps a little before that, those in the upper levels of society were collecting keris art, and weapon art. Pakubuwana X himself was a very enthusiastic collector, he liked unusual hilts, unusual keris, and he had his palace craftsmen copy weapons from Europe, the Indian Sub-Continent, and other places.

There is no place in Javanese society for a keris that falls outside the normal mode of wear. A great long keris that was unable to be worn in a style that was regarded as acceptable in Javanese society had no place in that society. Javanese nobles could not wander around the streets skewering people lower down in the societal hierarchy in order to test their new kerises, as reportedly the nobles of old Malaya did.

So, although there definitely were long keris made in Central Jawa, they did not form a part of the dress code.

It was not a matter of "just anybody" who could possess a long keris, it was more a matter of who had sufficient disposable income to own a keris for which there was purpose other than to make the possessor feel good. Pretty much the way we operate today. In 19th century Jawa, the whole thing of weapons as art and collectables appears to have begun in the kraton, and from there was picked up by others lower down in the pecking order.

The pamor on this keris is not a pamor that resembles a tambal pamor, it is a tambal pamor, and one of the names for the pamor contained in the applied patches is "koro welang", others might give it as "pandan iris", and there are possibly other names in use also.

However, the component parts of the dress seem to me to resemble the representative styles rather than to be authentic productions of those styles.

As to age of the blade, and separately, age of the complete keris.

I do not consider that I have been generous with my estimate of age, I have given a window of 100 years , beginning yesterday and continuing backwards for 100 years or so. That 100 years encompasses the revival period, which began in about 1975 and was in full swing by the 1980's.

I regard "current era" as the period that is identified by some as "Kemardikan" . I personally do not like this designation of Kemardikan, and if I'm out of step with most others, so be it.

If we are to place origin of this blade into Jawa, we need to identify a possible place of origin, and I cannot. If we regard Madura as a part of Jawa, yes, we can identify a possible place of origin. But I am reluctant to give this keris as a Madura, current era production, for the simple reason that I have not seen a similar keris that I knew had been produced in Madura, and this is the benchmark that I personally use when I give something as "Madura, current era". I prefer to be conservative, rather than to say something is so when I it might not be so.

However, all that said, the surface of this blade does look a lot like a blade that has been treated during the current era.

As to age of the dress. I'm not particularly interested in this. No matter when the dress was made, it is no more than something to house the keris. I doubt that the hilt and wrongko come from the geographic locations that generated these styles, but my measure of their desirability would be their quality, and I cannot really judge this from a photograph.

If one is an antique collector who likes keris, well, obviously the age and authenticity of dress is important, but if one is a collector and student of the keris, age and authenticity of dress comes a very distant second --- something to be considered , perhaps, and often, not even that.

[mariusgmioc]

Thank you very much for this very interesting and very educative discussion!