Unusual planar keris handles
 

Over the years I have collected some unusual and rare planar keris handles. I will show them in this thread time by time. Hope others will do the same. I hope that I will get by some further informations of origin.

I will start with a big bulky handle in the general shape of a Solo handle. The patras are carved in an unusual way. My guess that this handle is from East Java but I can be wrong by this. Every information about this handle is very welcome.

The second one is so far I know a handle from Kartasura and called cateng. Kartasura was the capital of the Sultanate of Mataram between 1680-1755.

I want to finish for the moment with this recent carved Yogya handle of unusual form.

Hi Detlef,
Interesting old hilt outside the Central Java pakem and I would also attribute it to East Java.
Regards

I recently acquired this planar hilt made from cast brass on a resin base and without patras and I wonder about its origin. It seems to have age and has few defects on the top side.
Regards

Hi Jean,

interesting hilt! I think I have seen similar wooden hilts.

Regards,

Detlef

Hi Detlef,
Thanks, there is a relatively similar wooden hilt shown in Tammens Volume 3 page 190 and attributed to the Gayo of Northern Sumatra (Bawar hilt) but the base is quite different. I got it with a blade and a damaged warangka which may originate from Northern/ West Java so this is one possible origin.
Regards

Here a Solo hilt with unusual carved lower patra.

Here a hilt I have shown in an other thread before. Silver sheet over resin, beautiful chased.

And here a possible Yogya handle carved from akar bahar.

Hi Detlef,
Very nice and peculiar hilt, the overall shape is in Nunggak Semi style from Yogya indeed but because of the carvings and filigree selut (recent?) I would rather attribute its origin to East Java :confused: , other opinions are welcome.
Regards

The carvings look more like Cirebon style (see chinese inspired "rocks and clouds" motif).

I doubt, the material is akar bahar, the surface seems to be quite porous in the first picture. I also think, such detailed carvings are not possible on akar bahar, becouse it is very hard and brittle.

Wow nice hilt Detlef. I also vote for Cirebon. If the material is dense, reddish (mature tree), and relatively heavy it might be sawo wood which I was told common for the area, it is a few wood that will allow detail carving (somewhat equal to kemuning). These days it is preffered material for heavy duty items such as drum stick or woodworking tools, carving mallet, hand plane etc.

Hello Jean,

thank you. :)
I doubt that the handle is from East Java, Gustav and Chandra may be correct with the Cirebon origin. And you are correct, the selut is recent.

Hello Gustav,

thank you for the hint to the Cirebon origin. I am very unsure about the used material. But the material isn't porous but chinky. And have a look to the last two pictures in down of the carved area, it look a little bit like burned plastic, maybe a sign for horn. :shrug:

Hello Chandra,

thank you as well. You give the second vote for Cirebon. Like written in up, I am very unsure about the material. The colour is like akar bahar or like reddish horn but could be wood as well.

Regards,

Detlef

Very old buffalo horn may look dry/lost of luster and show small cracks like this so if its unlike wood it may be buffalo horn, akar bahar is not likely as pointed out by Gustav.

I agree that the handle could originate from Cirebon but I could not find any piece with similar motifs in my archives, can somebody show us one?
Regards

another pic of an old cirebon handle with clouds pattern on the base

another unusual hilt

Hello Marco,

thank you very much for showing this example, the carvings in up resembles indeed the carvings of my hilt at the same area.

Regards,

Detlef

Interesting hilt with the pierced through carvings at the patras. :)

I've got quite a few planar hilts that I'd like to post to this thread, but at the moment I don't have time to do the pics.

Here is one that I do already have an image of.

New, sawo, cecekan krawangan, dikruwing.

Oh yes, I almost forgot.

In respect of these hilts with motifs that can be interpreted as cloud motifs, may I suggest that Pekalongan is more likely as point of origin than Cirebon.

If I am correct in this possibility, it is also possible that these hilts, were made on the order of an ethnic Chinese person, rather than an ethnic Javanese.

Nice hilt Alan, please can you explain "dikruwing"?

Thank you for your thoughts about this both hilts. This would explain also the high age from both hilts. Mataram era, correct?

Regards,

Detlef

Not purely planar but I think this hilt fit in this thread.

If you look carefully at the planes on the hilt I posted, you will see that these planes are not flat planes at all, but curved. This curved effect is called "kruwingan", because it has already been done the planes are now "dikruwing". Strictly speaking this word should only be used to describe this type of work in metal, for instance, in a keris the gulo milir is kruwingan work, but it is acceptable to use it to describe the same type of work in other mediums.

Regarding age of the hilts. I think you mean Mataram era?

Frankly I have no idea at all how old they are. Bearing in mind how quickly materials deteriorate in Jawa they could be 19th century if they left Jawa within the last 50 years or so.

The Mataram era is a pretty elastic description since the House of Mataram is still in power in both Solo and Jogja.

Hello Alan,

thank you for explanation. :)

And yes, I have meant "era"! :rolleyes:

Regards,

Detlef

I already showed this one I think but it is one of my favourites :)
Regards

Oh Jean, i do so love this hilt. Thanks for showing it again. I think that even though this has clearly been carved out a a planar mold, so much figural carving has been done that we cannot call it a planar hilt anymore. It defies the very definition of planar. Still awfully beautiful though... :)

Thanks David and yes, the planes on the front side have disappeared! :D