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Originally Posted by asomotif
I am still searching for opinions on how royal this keris might be.
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Willem, i am not sure exactly what you mean by this. Perhaps you need to define the term "royal" in your expectation for a more specific answer. As Alan has already state, he has personally examined some rather ordinary keris in the Kraton storeroom. Is that your standard for what a "Royal" keris is? If so and you are still trying to determine if this keris is a "royal" keris then i suppose that it does seem possible that it could be. However, stories of origins, even when held sincerely by families for long periods of time, are not always rooted in reality. The story told about this keris may or may not be accurate and must be taken with a grain of salt at best. Supposedly (according to the seller's website) this story was relayed by the granddaughter of the banker. He doesn't say exactly when the prince's family supposedly gifted this to the banker, but if the selut is indeed no older than the 1970s as Alan suggests that places this "gift" in the modern era.The "crest" on the back of the pendok is not any recognizable "royal" crest. So that is not a strong indicator that this keris actually did come from anyone in the royal family. Still, i must question, is a keris that is gifted to another by a member of the royal family to a commoner considered to be a "Royal" keris? I am not suggesting an answer, merely posing the question.
However, if by "Royal" you are speaking of a keris that might be personally owned and carried by a member of the royal family i strongly suspect that this is not an example of that. I do realize that the internet is filled with false information, but i did manage to find this example of a Keris Nagasapto supposedly made for Pakubuwono VII (seventh Susuhunan from 1830 to 1858). Personally, when i think of what a "Royal" keris is i think about keris that have been carried by members of the royal family, not just gifted to commoners or held in storage by the Kraton for one reason or another. Others may have a different standard.
