[A. G. Maisey]

The keris shown below are from my own collection.

The blades will stay in the scabbards, please do not ask for them to be removed.

Keris numbers 1, 2, 3 were collected in Jawa almost 100 years ago. They have been in my family since then.

Keris numbers 1, 2, 4 have had geographic point of origin of the wrongko verified. This verification was done in 1978 by a noble from Cirebon who was a relative of a close friend, and who had a reputation as an ahli keris.

I verified keris number 3 during a visit to Madura in 1990, however, prior to this it had been verified as Madura, popular in villages around Sumenep, and the ornamentation usually carved by the owner, this initial verification was given by a relative who had been born in and who grew up in Madura.

Keris #5 has been run past a lot of knowledgeable people. responses have been varied, but most people seem to think it is Tegal

#1. Collected North Coast Jawa, probably Pekalongan, in about 1920, verified as Cirebon in 1978. However, this form is found in several different variations which seem to rely more on period of production than anything else, it seems to be distributed all along the North Coast and into East Jawa at least as far as Malang

#2 Collected in Cirebon in about 1920, verified as Cirebon in 1978. This is a variation of the Cirebon Tanggalan form. Pendok replaced during 1980's.

#3 Collected in Surabaya in about 1920, this is a Madura form.

#4 Bought at auction in Sydney during 1960's, supposedly collected in Batavia (Jakarta) pre-WWII, identified as Tegal in 1978

#5 Collected in Surakarta in 1975, identified as Banyumas, Tegal, Cirebon, Banten, Jawa Timur, Madura --- and probably a few other places as well, by people who should have known what they were talking about, but at least some perhaps did not. Based upon frequency of response, I think this is North Coast Jawa, most likely Tegal.

Styles 1, 2 and 4 above were still being made until about 15 years ago. I have had more than a few of the more recent versions of these forms. Regrettably the maker passed away about 15 years ago, he was already very old.


The keris shown below are from my own collection.

The blades will stay in the scabbards, please do not ask for them to be removed.

Keris numbers 1, 2, 3 were collected in Jawa almost 100 years ago. They have been in my family since then.

Keris numbers 1, 2, 4 have had geographic point of origin of the wrongko verified. This verification was done in 1978 by a noble from Cirebon who was a relative of a close friend, and who had a reputation as an ahli keris.

I verified keris number 3 during a visit to Madura in 1990, however, prior to this it had been verified as Madura, popular in villages around Sumenep, and the ornamentation usually carved by the owner, this initial verification was given by a relative who had been born in and who grew up in Madura.

Keris #5 has been run past a lot of knowledgeable people. responses have been varied, but most people seem to think it is Tegal

#1. Collected North Coast Jawa, probably Pekalongan, in about 1920, verified as Cirebon in 1978. However, this form in several different variations which seem to rely more on period of production than anything else, it seems to be distributed all along the North Coast and into East Jawa at least as far as Malang

#2 Collected in Cirebon in about 1920, verified as Cirebon in 1978. This is a variation of the Cirebon Wulan Tumanggal form. Pendok replaced during 1980's.

#3 Collected in Surabaya in about 1920, this is a Madura form.

#4 Bought at auction in Sydney during 1960's, supposedly collected in Batavia (Jakarta) pre-WWII, identified as Tegal in 1978

#5 Collected in Surakarta in 1975, identified as Banyumas, Tegal, Cirebon, Banten, Jawa Timur, Madura --- and probably a few other places as well, by people who should have known what they were talking about, but at least some perhaps did not. Based upon frequency of response, I think this is North Coast Jawa, most likely Tegal.

Styles 1, 2 and 4 above were still being made until about 15 years ago. I have had more than a few of the more recent versions of these forms. Regrettably the maker passed away about 15 years ago, he was already very old.

Jean, you have identified wrongko # 2 as a "fantasy" style, as you can see from the old example I have posted, this is incorrect.
I know that any of us are only as good as our informants, and this is the reason that I have always tried to find personal informants who are regarded as authorities amongst local people in Jawa. Books are often not all that reliable, and the number of people who really know about keris is becoming less with every passing day.