[A. G. Maisey]

I cannot give any opinion upon the "significance" of this keris. "Significant" is not an objective concept, it depends upon factors that are either difficult or impossible to assess.

However I can to a limited degree comment upon the keris, only limited, because it is extremely difficult to appraise any keris from even the very best photos.

Blade:- I have no idea of the age of this blade, the pamor has been well managed, it does appear to have some erosion, the blumbangan is boto adeg (upright/standing brick). My guess would be 19th century, but having said that I have seen very recent blades that present the same & similar indicators. Although it has some indicators that might place it in Jawa, based upon what I believe I can see in the photos, I am virtually certain that this is a keris blade from Madura.

Pendok:- the material will probably test as mamas, it is a Madura topengan style, dates from between +/- 1880 to +/- 1930. I would expect to see a lidhah of cloth or metal or turtle shell covering the exposed gandar. Bare wood is OK when the wood is worthy of being exposed, but the wood in this gandar is not meant for display.

Gambar:- the gambar/atasan of the wrongko is a Central Javanese style, probably intended as Solo, but it looks very much like Madura work, probably from Sumenep area. Sumenep has an Arab Quarter and a lot of committed Muslims live in Sumenep, most are involved in the furniture trade, most of the products produced are exported to the Middle East, China & to Jakarta.
The carvers working in this industry in Sumenep are capable of very fine work.I believe that close examination would confirm that this wrongko atasan is of recent manufacture, and very probably replaced the original atasan. This "Koranic Text" style is not uncommon in Madura, East Jawa and the North Coast, and since about the 1990's it seems to have increased in popularity amongst Muslim people. One thing is certain, it is not a style that can be considered as traditional Javanese/Madurese in origin and its popularity has increased with the rise of Islam.
This type of wrongko is popular with some Muslim people, but it is rarely taken outside the house, to wear such a keris in public would be seen as a bit too extreme in both Jawa & Madura. Such keris dress would almost certainly never be worn by either a traditional Madurese or Javanese man.
Is the material used in this hilt kerbau (water buffalo) horn?

Hilt:- I'm assuming that this hilt is not ivory, but probably denatured antler or bone, it probably dates from the 19th century, it is unlikely to be original to this keris --- this is no big deal, keris dress is frequently changed --- however, it is regrettable that it no longer has the selut which would have originally been fitted to it. From what little I can see of the hilt the carving seems to be of fair middle quality, ie, neither particularly good nor particularly bad.

Mendak:- definitely old, probably +/- 1880 to +/-1930. It looks like a pretty decent sort of mendak, it is Madura, but it is very definitely out of place when mated with this hilt, it is far too big, this mating is laughable at best and it indicates that whoever put this keris together did not understand the applicable standards. It has probably been put together by a dealer based in Jakarta, only my guess, but it is an informed guess.

Overall, its not a bad keris, many collectors would find something like this quite desirable, it has been let down in its presentation by minor inadequacies --- the slorok, the mendak, the missing selut --- but for inclusion in a collection, I doubt that most Western World collectors would be too concerned.

But significant?

If it is significant to its custodian it is significant, its that simple.