sundang

[kai]

Hello Amuk,

From the photos, my first guess is that the blade was made for a lesser notable (possibly ceremonial) from Sabah/North Borneo. Age probably 18thC or earlier.

Hmm, IMVHO the scroll work is way to fancy for a 19th century piece, much less for a 18th c. piece (regardless of origin, I suppose).

I also have no clue what features would suggest a Sabah origin? AFAIK, most blades from there are obviously of traditional Sulu style with a notable minority of Mindanao style blades thrown in (trade as well as Illanum connection). Anyway, users of these kris would be Moro with close (political and economical) ties to the Sulu sultanate. Not much room for ideosyncratic styles, I guess. Even early collected pieces from western collections with provenance from other regions on Borneo (mainly Kalimantan Timur and Brunei) seem to exhibit conservative Moro styles rather than unique variations.

OTOH, the base features of this blade include several details which do not seem to be Moro at all (will try to edit a pic to show the details I mean). My bet would be Sumatra but I wouldn't rule out the Peninsula either.

Incidentally, the closest to the greneng of this piece seem to be exhibited by Sharial's keris:

More pics here!
Discussion on this keris.

Cleaning and etching this keris sundang blade may yield additional insights into this mystery, I guess.

Regards,
Kai

[karset]

blade 51 cm / 20 inch.
Pesi 7cm / 3 inch.
Ganja 10cm/ 4 inch.
I will clean the blade,,and go back, hope i dont distrubing.

[karset]

after some day in coconut bath,,,,not too clean.
"condong leleh" of this sundang i feel not same with moro,but im not sure . . i need to know region of this blade,only too know model of handle and sheath.
if this one is moro feel free to delete this thread,,,i will bring it to our friend at another forum.

[kai]

Hello karset,

Laminations are present but I don't see enough details to examine the construction of the blade in detail. It's not necessary to do a full warangan treatment - could you please try a mild etch (lime or vinegar will usually do) though? Thanks! BTW, I still think this is an Indonesian/Malay keris sundang; going for a waragan treatment would seem ok to me if you prefer a higher contrast.

if this one is moro feel free to delete this thread

Nah, no worries: The moderators can move a thread to another subforum if deemed necessary.

Regards,
Kai

[kulbuntet]

Anny thought about the posibility that it may be a east Jawa keris. Old ones have strong bali like influences. Dont know if it is, just want to put it in discusion.

Regards, M

[David]

Originally Posted by kulbuntet

Anny thought about the posibility that it may be a east Jawa keris. Old ones have strong bali like influences. Dont know if it is, just want to put it in discusion.

Regards, M

hmmm, i don't believe i have ever seen any sundang style keris from Java. Do you have any examples Michel?

[Sajen]

Hello Michel,
the peksi is square cut and not round, this I have never seen by a javanese keris.
sajen