three Bali Keris

[A. G. Maisey]

As Detlef has written:- #1 & #3 are not bad keris at all & genuinely old Balinese --- not super old, but I'd put #1 as pre-WWII & the blade of #3 as 19th century, maybe second half.

#2 is a very ordinary Javanese blade, the hilt & scabbard were made in Jogja, most probably by Bp. Prawirodihardjo(Alm.) or possibly his father.

[HughChen]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

As Detlef has written:- #1 & #3 are not bad keris at all & genuinely old Balinese --- not super old, but I'd put #1 as pre-WWII & the blade of #3 as 19th century, maybe second half.

#2 is a very ordinary Javanese blade, the hilt & scabbard were made in Jogja, most probably by Bp. Prawirodihardjo(Alm.) or possibly his father.

Thank you, Maisey

It's amazing that you can tell who made the hilt & scabbard of #2. How do you know that? Is Bp. Prawirodihardjo also a member of this forum?

[HughChen]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

As Detlef has written:- #1 & #3 are not bad keris at all & genuinely old Balinese --- not super old, but I'd put #1 as pre-WWII & the blade of #3 as 19th century, maybe second half.

#2 is a very ordinary Javanese blade, the hilt & scabbard were made in Jogja, most probably by Bp. Prawirodihardjo(Alm.) or possibly his father.

Thank you, Maisey

You are very knowledgable. Can you tell us who are Bp. Prawirodihardjo(Alm.) and his father? Are they craftsman bofore or during WW2?

[A. G. Maisey]

Hugh, Bapak (Bp. = Mr.) Prawirodiharjo has moved to the unseen world many years ago, possibly 20 or so years, the abbreviation Alm. = "almarhum" which means deceased.

He was known by a different name in the keris trade, & I would prefer not to use that other name. He came from a very long line of m'ranggis & pande keris, he was an extremely talented man, but was unknown outside the Central Javanese keris trade. He would not normally deal with the general public, but if somebody was personally introduced to him by one of his regular clients he was open to taking orders.

Everybody believes that keris production stopped in Jawa from before WWII, however this gentleman & his father & other members of his family were making keris that were copies of mostly Mataram keris, often with kinatah work, that were only available to the trade, from before the Japanese occupation through to the 1990's. He was the last of his line. His son did not follow family tradition but became a breeder of pigeons & doves.

I have this knowledge because I was a member of the keris trade in Central Jawa from about 1974 until 2015. I was trained by some of best known empus & m'ranggis in Solo.

[HughChen]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Hugh, Bapak (Bp. = Mr.) Prawirodiharjo has moved to the unseen world many years ago, possibly 20 or so years, the abbreviation Alm. = "almarhum" which means deceased.

He was known by a different name in the keris trade, & I would prefer not to use that other name. He came from a very long line of m'ranggis & pande keris, he was an extremely talented man, but was unknown outside the Central Javanese keris trade. He would not normally deal with the general public, but if somebody was personally introduced to him by one of his regular clients he was open to taking orders.

Everybody believes that keris production stopped in Jawa from before WWII, however this gentleman & his father & other members of his family were making keris that were copies of mostly Mataram keris, often with kinatah work, that were only available to the trade, from before the Japanese occupation through to the 1990's. He was the last of his line. His son did not follow family tradition but became a breeder of pigeons & doves.

I have this knowledge because I was a member of the keris trade in Central Jawa from about 1974 until 2015. I was trained by some of best known empus & m'ranggis in Solo.

Thank you, Maisey! Interesting history! How can we learn more about the history of Keris systematically online?

[HughChen]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Hugh, Bapak (Bp. = Mr.) Prawirodiharjo has moved to the unseen world many years ago, possibly 20 or so years, the abbreviation Alm. = "almarhum" which means deceased.

He was known by a different name in the keris trade, & I would prefer not to use that other name. He came from a very long line of m'ranggis & pande keris, he was an extremely talented man, but was unknown outside the Central Javanese keris trade. He would not normally deal with the general public, but if somebody was personally introduced to him by one of his regular clients he was open to taking orders.

Everybody believes that keris production stopped in Jawa from before WWII, however this gentleman & his father & other members of his family were making keris that were copies of mostly Mataram keris, often with kinatah work, that were only available to the trade, from before the Japanese occupation through to the 1990's. He was the last of his line. His son did not follow family tradition but became a breeder of pigeons & doves.

I have this knowledge because I was a member of the keris trade in Central Jawa from about 1974 until 2015. I was trained by some of best known empus & m'ranggis in Solo.

Thank you Maisey. The point of the keris blade is very thin which seems vulnerable , and the blade has a wired scent. Is that normal for an old Javanese Keris?

[milandro]

Originally Posted by HughChen

the blade has a wired scent. Is that normal for an old Javanese Keris?

in Indonesia it is normal to hold blades on incense and to treat the blade with perfumed oils

[A. G. Maisey]

Just about anything can be normal for keris, there is tremendous variation in what we see.