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#1 |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Upstate New York, USA
Posts: 909
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A friend recently acquired this at a local auction. The blade appears very much to be a simple working version of a wedung that has seen use. I seem to recollect discussion of the same entity as depicted by the carved hilt, but cannot recall the details. I am interested in your thoughts about origin and age.
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#2 |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany, Dortmund
Posts: 8,716
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Hello Lee,
That's not a wedung, I would call it tiuk pengentas, see here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=wedung+bali But it's very recent work and the handle isn't original and also too small for such a blade. Sorry for the bad news! ![]() Regards, Detlef |
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#3 |
Keris forum moderator
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 7,085
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Hi Lee. I have to agree with Detlef. It is a somewhat similar form, but it would never pass as a wedhung, which is a very specific court blade that is really only carried within the keraton.
I'm not sure it is a tiuk pengentas either but who knows. Maybe someone else has an idea. |
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#4 |
Keris forum moderator
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 7,085
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As for the figure figure in the hilt, often figures that are crouching like this are related to ancestors. The bird face behind the head appears to be a Garuda Mungkur, a protective figure. Tiuk Pengentas will also often have a Garuda head along the top edge of the blade. I have attached an example of a Tiuk Pengentas for comparison. Tiuk Pengentas are used in funerary ceremonies in Bali so a hilt relating to the ancestors could make logical sense i suppose. They are sometimes called Balinese Wedhung, but again it the distinction should be made that Tiuk Pengentas are not Wedhung and serve a completely different function as the Wedhung, which only exists in Jawa.
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#5 |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Upstate New York, USA
Posts: 909
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Thank you all for your instructive and educational insights. The blade does seem so entirely utilitarian, so perhaps this carved dress was added to a tool blade for sale to the traveler? I should add that in the same lot there was what appeared to be a large Balinese keris with a carved wooden hilt in very much the same style, wood and finish, but different from all of those in my personal experience. That keris had a simple, high contrast pamor blade that did not scream of antiquity to me.
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#6 | |
Keris forum moderator
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 7,085
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![]() Quote:
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#7 |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Upstate New York, USA
Posts: 909
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Closest match yet! The blade in the original post above is just under 8 inches in length.
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