Spirit Cage [revisited]
 

I had posted this earlier and tried to delete that post. However the keris keeps coming back in my mind and I am reposting. Please excuse my redundancy.

Not sure what this is. It was called a "Spirit Cage" A tombak is in the center. Keris is shown to show size. It has traces of kineta.

I am very curious about this. It does have a "presence" a sense of some kind of strange power. Not good, nor bad, just powerful.

I think it is called a bethok krawangan keris, with a fixed menur tombak inside. It does not rattle. My description may be incorrect and would appreciate your opinions.

The handle and scabbard is rough.

If there is interest, I will try to get better detail images, possibly lighting from the other side to see the tombak better.

Hello Bill,

This has me dumbfounded and others as well, I guess. While it may not be my cup of tea, the displayed skill and patience is certainly impressive.

I assume the tombak inside does not carry a methuk but rather the methuk/mendak on the outside is used to tightly fix the ensemble, isn't it?

Did you got any provenance or other info with it?

Regards,
Kai

Bill, my feeling about this is that it is just lovely, but i can't figure our whether this piece serves a deeper spiritual function worthy of the name "spirit cage" or if it's just beautiful for beauty's sake. Either way is a justifiable reason for being. :)

Addendum: I don't get the feeling it is particularly old though. Which makes me wonder about the worn away kinatah look. That can be a popular dealer technique to make a newer keris look old. Or maybe it's just a way to save on gold coasts. ;)
Either way it does make me wonder what a creation like this would look like in full stain and completely in kinatah as seems to be the original intention of the design.

Hello Bill,

I'm with David - very likely originates from Karmadikan times.

It certainly focuses on the artistic side of things with the whole gandik as well as the gonjo hollowed out which is quite a feat to achieve!

Can you tell if the tombak inside was made to fit or whether it is an older blade?

Regards,
Kai

Not sure where or from whom I got it, but they called it a Spirit Cage. Does seem well-done and has a strange 'presence.'

A "Indonesian" friend has one similar and he calls it "betok" thinks it came from Bali. Now lives in Amsterdam.

I have permission to show the blade, but no permission to show faces and blanked them out

It looks huge! :eek:
Your's is a much smaller example, Bill, yes?

Hello Bill,

Does it also have a tombak inside?

And what seems to poke through the gandik?

Regards,
Kai

I don't know more about the other "bethok." He is sending me more pictures and a write up.