Meaning in a Balinese keris

[Jean]

According to the book "Keris Bali bersejarah" page 74, this is supposed to depict a cock comb? However your specimen is much more spiralling than in the book picture.
Regards

[Anthony G.]

Originally Posted by Jean

According to the book "Keris Bali bersejarah" page 74, this is supposed to depict a cock comb? However your specimen is much more spiralling than in the book picture.
Regards

what does a cock comb means in Bali culture?

[David]

I thought i remembered either reading or being told that this form of gonjo was indeed reserved for priests, but i cannot find the reference point at this moment.

[A. G. Maisey]

Keris ligan is also known as "Keris Pedang", it is a form of keris with a warrior association.

The first time I saw a similar treatment of the greneng to this one was in Mario & Vanna Ghiringhelli's Little Red Book --- the original "Invincible Keris". This keris was a cengkrong style and the caption stated that keris with this blade style, ie, cengkrong, was worn by preachers & scholars of religion & theology.

Note:- blade type, not gonjo type

The first time I saw a keris with this extremely exuberant spiral ornamentation to the greneng was in the courtyard of a very well known Balinese m'ranggi and keris dealer, it was a recently made Madura keris, and it was hanging from the exposed framework of a small pavilion. When I asked why it was hanging there, along with a large number of other newly made keris I was told that all these keris were there to permit them to age naturally.

I have not seen this type of gonjo ornamentation in an old keris, only in recently made ones.

[Anthony G.]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Keris ligan is also known as "Keris Pedang", it is a form of keris with a warrior association.

The first time I saw a similar treatment of the greneng to this one was in Mario & Vanna Ghiringhelli's Little Red Book --- the original "Invincible Keris". This keris was a cengkrong style and the caption stated that keris with this blade style, ie, cengkrong, was worn by preachers & scholars of religion & theology.

Note:- blade type, not gonjo type

The first time I saw a keris with this extremely exuberant spiral ornamentation to the greneng was in the courtyard of a very well known Balinese m'ranggi and keris dealer, it was a recently made Madura keris, and it was hanging from the exposed framework of a small pavilion. When I asked why it was hanging there, along with a large number of other newly made keris I was told that all these keris were there to permit them to age naturally.

I have not seen this type of gonjo ornamentation in an old keris, only in recently made ones.

Thanks Alan for sharing. I am clear now about my doubts. Cheerios.

[Jean]

Thank you Alan, and I attach the pic of the kris in question from Mario & Vanna G.
Ha ha, RIP Wayan Ritug! I agree with you that the kris from Anthony is most probably a recent creation.

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

The first time I saw a similar treatment of the greneng to this one was in Mario & Vanna Ghiringhelli's Little Red Book --- the original "Invincible Keris". This keris was a cengkrong style and the caption stated that keris with this blade style, ie, cengkrong, was worn by preachers & scholars of religion & theology....
I have not seen this type of gonjo ornamentation in an old keris, only in recently made ones.

Alan, i suspect you may indeed have seen this greneng treatment before that and forgotten, on page 73 in David van Duuren's book The Kris. I suspect you have this book and i am fairly certain it came out well before the Little Red Book.
While it is difficult to be sure of a single image printed in a text it seem most likely that the keris shown in van Duuren's book is indeed at least 19th century.

[David]

Here is the example from van Duuren's book The Kris.

[A. G. Maisey]

David, David van Duuren published two editions of the "The Kris", the first was a Dutch edition published in 1996, the second was the English edition published in 1998. The keris on P.73 of the English edition is a cengkrong with the spiral, and yes, I had forgotten it. But it did come after Mario & Vanna's similar one.

Vanna Ghiringhelli published "The Invincible Krises 2" in 2007.

But in 1991 Vanna & Mario published The Little Red Book:- "Kris Gli Invincibili" ('Kris the Invincible'), the similar one I mentioned is on P.41.

[David]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

David, David van Duuren published two editions of the "The Kris", the first was a Dutch edition published in 1996, the second was the English edition published in 1998. The keris on P.73 of the English edition is a cengkrong with the spiral, and yes, I had forgotten it. But it did come after Mario & Vanna's similar one.

Vanna Ghiringhelli published "The Invincible Krises 2" in 2007.

But in 1991 Vanna & Mario published The Little Red Book:- "Kris Gli Invincibili" ('Kris the Invincible'), the similar one I mentioned is on P.41.

Thanks Alan. I have "The Little Red Book", but i never looked at the publishing date and i got van Duuren's book much earlier so i guess i wrongly assumed it was the older book.
But what do you think of the age of the example in van Duuren? It seems very possible to me that it is an antique example, no?

[Jean]

Originally Posted by Anthony G.

what does a cock comb means in Bali culture?

Hello Anthony,
I don't know the meaning of the cock comb in Bali culture as described by the Bali kris book author, but imagine that it could be related to the cock spur of fighting cocks? (very popular in Bali)?