I feel that all parts of this ensemble could come from the indicated time period, however, whether or not they all date from the same year I would not like to say. My feeling is that the wrongko could come from much later in the period, however, if, and I emphasise "if" the slorok is kemalo there is high probability, even certainty, that my opinion on dating the dress is accurate.I do not think that this dress could date from after WWII, not with the apparent patina + the kemalo pendok.But I'm going on photos on a screen, and we all know how misleading they can be.
I have seen and handled keris that were given in times past to members of the Surakarta royal family. In nearly all cases these were very, very ordinary keris. The keris that are owned by members of a royal family may not necessarily be of what we would regard as "royal" quality. So yes, a member of a royal family could certainly own a keris that had not been made by an mpu.
The fit in the photos does not look good, however, the opening in the wrongko seems to be correct for the gonjo, and the curve in the atasan seems to be correct for the curve in the gonjo. It may be that the blade was not pushed fully home, it may be that distortion has occurred in the wood, it may be that an insect has crawled into the gandar and created an obstruction. There are many possibilities. It is quite usual as a part of maintenance for the inside of an old scabbard to be cleaned thoroughly by removal of a very thin shaving of wood, this is often done when a new gandar is fitted, and it is also done when the inside of a wrongko becomes fouled and rotten. I feel that if this wrongko were to be properly cleaned the blade would sit correctly. However, as far as royal family ownership is concerned, the only indicator is the dress, and this is not necessarily a gaurantee, only an indicator of possibility.
|