Cirebon or Tegal with Figural hilt
 

Just received this keris in the mail.
Bought it on a vague picture and was pleasantly surprised.

I do not know much about this type of figural hilt but have seen it being called Dursasana and Rajamala I think. Is any of these an accepted name for this figural hilt?

Furhter I would like to hear the opinions about the origin of this keris Cirebon or Tegal seem to be the most likely to me?!

And what about the pendok it is simple copper and does not really seem to fit well with the rest of the keris I think.

The hilt has a selut but also some sort of very small silver mendak that goes up a bit (1cm) along the peksi into the hilt.

The pamor seems to be adeg?

Hope you can help me in determining this keris.

Nice cirebon /tegal keris; about pamor... warangan can help about it .
Tegal (old) hit seems, from pics, very very nice. In my experience this kind of hit is one of the most rare to find.
VERY NICE :)

Hello Eric,
very nice keris with beautiful hilt. I would think that it is a Tegal keris. Pamor seems to be adeg. The pendok is maybe a later addition.
sajen

Oh, a "proto-tajong"! :) V v nice! I'm jealous. It goes well with the teratai style wrongko! :)

I'm feeling a bit covetous along with you Kai Wee . :D

Fantastic keris Erik ! :)

Thanks for the nice comments so far.

If I were to replace the pendok what kind would suit this keris?
Silver would be my material of choice but what is the style that fits?

Regards, Erik

PS any good sources for such a pendok more than welcome too of course.

Dear Erik,

I'm no where close to being an expert in Javanese kerises, but I thought the pendok looks like non-Central Javanese, and could have originated from around the Cirebon/Tegal region. It may not be the finest, but if it can be pushed up to fit closer to the neck of the wrongko, I think it would still be overall more appropriate for the keris' form.

I believe the shape of the pendok is not the same as Central Javanese pendok, especially closer to the bottom. I would recommend as much as possible, not to change the current pendok.

There can only be one! And it's Erik right now. :D Haha. :)

RAJAMALA hilts
 

Dear Erik,
IMHO -- in Cirebon and Tegal, some old kerises have no pendhok. But some with gold pendhok or simple silver or copper pendhoks. They look really simple. Some Tegalese "sampir" (sorry, to mention it in Malaysian term) I have, made of old and fine "tanduk" (horn). Hopefully, old rhino horn...

Here are some pictures of my Tegalese keris with the same type of hilt like Erik's, we call it "Rajamala" hilt. Just for sharing with you... At least I have two Rajamalas in my collection...

GANJAWULUNG

Ganjawulung and BluErf many thanks for the comments on the pendok.

Spoke today with one of the Dutch specialists (he would not call himself that though) at a Keris meeting. He was the same opinion as you both he thought it is probably an original pendok of the region.

I still think it might not be original to the keris because it does not fit really well but as this style is good for the keris I'll keep them together.

Regards, Erik

Are the eyes are made from a different material?

What is the difference between Cirebon/Tegal?

Bill, Cirebon and Tegal are both Northern Coast in Jawa. Cirebon was its own Sultanate established in the 16th century and Tegal was a regency of Mataram established in the early 17th century. They can apparently share certain traits in their keris, perhaps due to being so geographically close to one another.