My Grandfathers Keris

[Jayaningkurnia]

Thank you Alan for the explanation (and the reference image - if I recall correctly these would be from the book released by Damartaji group of Surakarta citing KGPH Hadiwijaya as the source).

Thanks for pointing out the possible remnants of greneng sungsun/ron dha nunut. Curious that it has eroded like so while the remaining greneng are in such good shape.

@KellykellyDonovan, to give more context, a keris is made up of various components ('ricikan') that varies for each 'dhapur'/design.

Known codification and standardisation of these designs (i.e. which dhapur should have which ricikan, but also the overall shape of the blade and each ricikan themselves) took place in the late 18th-19th century in the Javanese courts of Surakarta (thus the pakem/standard of Surakarta), but also in other courts, most notably Yogyakarta (a 'rival' court), and to a lesser extent Mangkunegaran and more recently Pakualaman courts which are principalities (instead of sultanates). That said, the overall shape changes/varies across the various reigning sovereigns at each court, though the ricikan seems to be quite consistent.

The process of "nangguh" (i.e. the art of gestimating when and where a keris was made) involves close examination of the blade material, shape, and these ricikan (with each 'era' or sometimes empu/master keris-maker associated with certain material/design/workmanship). Problematically, the copying ('mutrani'/making a son of) old and esteemed kerises is a rather common practice even in the past (at least from the Majapahit era/14th century). Also, it is very difficult to do carbon-dating of metals (there's some methods for iron, but I think it involves damaging the item itself). As such it is almost impossible to accurately date an old keris (perhaps except for those still kept by the Javanese courts and old nobilities, with clear provenance back to when it was first made).

To clarify on my previous point re: the keris you shared seems to follow gagrag/style of Surakarta, I was referring to:
- the anggodong pohung (cassava-leaf) shape of the blade,
- the shape of the keris' bottom (the term 'mbokong semar'/like the bottom of Semar, a wayang/shadow puppet character - you can Google him)
- the shape of the pejetan/blumbangan
- condong leleh (i.e. how the blade sit on the handle), etc.
which are commonly associated with a Javanese keris that follows Surakarta's design style.

Interestingly, in a book published in late 2023 by Yogyakarta's Cultural Office (dinas kebudayaan) together with Pametri Wiji (a keris enthusiast group there) on Dhapur Keris Gagrag Yogyakarta, a dhapur Sinom Wora-Wari is pictured with jenggot and greneng sungsun (picture attached). It is not known whether the book takes reference from "official" sources in the court of Yogyakarta or more of a compilation of widely-held belief/consensus among keris enthusiasts there.