Newbie Question: Kinatah vs Sinarasah

[JustYS]

Dear All,

As the title said, I would like to know better about these 2 techniques of gold ornamentation for Keris.

By searching this forum I’ve found this explanation from Alan Maisey:

Kinatah is the Indonesian equivalent of koftgari and the most usual method of application of the gold is by a similar method, ie, carve the foundation for the ornamentation in relief and roughen the surface with chisel cuts, then apply the gold leaf. There are other less traditional and much less good methods.

Sinarasah involves making a hole in the blade. The bottom of the hole is wider than the top, gold is hammered into the hole and smoothed level with the blade surface. This is used for calligraphy mostly. Sometimes this method can be used as a sort of substitute for kinatah, when a big lump of gold is left proud of the blade surface, and then that lump of gold is carved.

From browsing several keris websites, I’ve found that the consensus is that Kinatah is considered as a SUPERIOR technique than Sinarasah but no further explanations provided.

Hence my questions are:

1. Why is Kinatah considered superior than Sinarasah? Is it because it is more difficult to do and the results are better?
2. How can you tell that the gold ornamentation found in Keris is the result of Kinatah or Sinarasah?

Thank you.

[David]

Yohan, i'm not sure it is always a matter of which method is "superior", but rather which methods suits the need. For instance, i might be wrong, but i would image that the heavy pieces of gold that stick out from the bottom of this gonjo must have been adhered using the Sinarasah method, otherwise they would be too prone to falling off. But i am sure that Alan and other here will have more information about this.

[Rick]

I think that gold leaf would be more prone to wear compared to the other method which is essentially inlay .

[Jean]

For instance, i might be wrong, but i would image that the heavy pieces of gold that stick out from the bottom of this gonjo must have been adhered using the Sinarasah method

Hum, the heavy pieces of gold are just steel/ iron covered by a thin layer of gold?
Regards

[kai]

Hello YS,

From browsing several keris websites, I’ve found that the consensus is that Kinatah is considered as a SUPERIOR technique than Sinarasah but no further explanations provided.
I beg to differ: Like David I'd tend to believe that these methods mainly are for different purposes. If the craftsmanship is good, they'll be fairly robust; I've seen more than a few lousy jobs with both methods though... :(


1. Why is Kinatah considered superior than Sinarasah? Is it because it is more difficult to do and the results are better?
I'd guess that plain inlay merely receives less recognition. The more splendid/fancy keris will usually be done via kinatah work while inlay usually tends to be more subdued, localized decor.


2. How can you tell that the gold ornamentation found in Keris is the result of Kinatah or Sinarasah?
Typical sinarasah will be smooth with the blade surface.

If the gold seems to be sitting on top of the blade, it could be both methods and most people would call it kinatah without a second thought. Sometimes, you can spot the surface scratching to attach true kinatah along the margins of the gold work - if the work is good (and without missing bits from wear/etc.), there shouldn't be any clues visible though.

If done in the same quality, I'd rather opt for sinarasah-style attachment since this is likely to be more stable in the long run!

BTW, for big lumps of gold like elephant/tiger/etc. standing proud of the blade, there usually is some iron base left on the wilah/gonjo which then get's covered by gold: This helps to avoid spending more for precious metals than necessary and, more importantly, provides a very secure attachment! While this may also be subsumed under the kinatah category, it is much more stable and I can't remember having seen any examples with the typical scratching on the surface...

Actually, there is at least one more (sub)type of attachment: Sometimes a tiny chisel is utilized to cut into the iron and bend it upwards - with a few of these curved "tooths" standing proud of the surface and an irregular hole in the middle, this also offers a very secure attachment for any gold work (possibly including inset gems)! Again, most people would also refer to it as kinatah even if the construction principle might be closer to sinarasah...

Regards,
Kai

[JustYS]

Thank you David, Rick and kai for your explanations.

Hello YS,


I beg to differ: Like David I'd tend to believe that these methods mainly are for different purposes. If the craftsmanship is good, they'll be fairly robust; I've seen more than a few lousy jobs with both methods though... :(



I admit my source of this statement is mostly from Indonesian websites and also online sellers where they always put a higher price for kinatah compared to sinarasah, although to my untrained eyes it’s difficult to see the difference.

Cheers,

YS

[Jean]

Dear Kai,
Would you classify the gold work on the blade shown by David as kinatah or sinarasah?
Regards

[kai]

Dear Jean,

Our post crossed - my comments were directed at Yohan's questions.


Would you classify the gold work on the blade shown by David as kinatah or sinarasah?
As I said, we can't really know from any pic but a high-power X-ray... ;)

As a default, I'd assume that the figurines have an iron core which was pre-modelled on the gonjo. The gold layer may be thin, indeed.

I believe this most likely would be subsumed under kinatah by Jawa standards.

Regards,
Kai

[A. G. Maisey]

Yes Kai, you're pretty right;- see a bit gold, or gold plate, or gilt, or brass on a blade, the common term is "Kinatah".

This is often technically wrong, but it is only in serious, analytical discussion that the correct technical terms get used --- if people do in fact know them.

David's Example

The work on David's keris is kinatah work, the two little protuberances on top of the gonjo could be achieved with other methods, but are most likely to be gonjo material left proud and then the gold foil applied.