Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - what type of sarung/scabbard fits this keris?

A. G. Maisey · 28th May 2016, 01:22 PM

I agree with you Gustav, this is not a typical Palembang blade, but its not typical of anything I know, certainly not Jawa, and with that kaku blade it doesn't fit easily anywhere, however, there have been some mighty queer keris emerge from South Sumatra, and Palembang dress is as good as any dress that I can imagine to put this into.

When trying to make a decision on keris origins and nothing is obvious, we usually play a game of elimination and then see what we have left. If we cannot place this keris with some degree of certainty into one of the big, well-known baskets, then Sumatra is probably where it belongs, and South Sumatra is perhaps the safest dress to use.

The problem we face when trying to determine geographic point of origin for keris is this:- once we move away from an area of dominant influence, the rules fly out the door. There is variation upon variation upon variation, and nothing is certain, so we do the best we can under miserable circumstances.

I'd still run with Palembang --- unless somebody has a better suggestion?

One of the really good indicators with any keris blade is the way in which the ron dha is cut. The ron dha on this keris shows absolutely no consistency of form, and nothing that is identifiable as any known form, but it does show a form that mimics the elements of a correctly cut Palembang or Javanese ron dha, almost as if the maker had seen a correctly made keris and tried to remember what it looked like. Again, the prominent ada-ada, a distinctive feature in some Javanese keris, but not to this extent, and the number of waves? An abomination and an insult. This blade was not made by any empu, nor any pandai keris, it was made by a talented tukang besi at a customer's direction.

28th May 2016, 01:22 PM	#16
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,697	I agree with you Gustav, this is not a typical Palembang blade, but its not typical of anything I know, certainly not Jawa, and with that kaku blade it doesn't fit easily anywhere, however, there have been some mighty queer keris emerge from South Sumatra, and Palembang dress is as good as any dress that I can imagine to put this into. When trying to make a decision on keris origins and nothing is obvious, we usually play a game of elimination and then see what we have left. If we cannot place this keris with some degree of certainty into one of the big, well-known baskets, then Sumatra is probably where it belongs, and South Sumatra is perhaps the safest dress to use. The problem we face when trying to determine geographic point of origin for keris is this:- once we move away from an area of dominant influence, the rules fly out the door. There is variation upon variation upon variation, and nothing is certain, so we do the best we can under miserable circumstances. I'd still run with Palembang --- unless somebody has a better suggestion? One of the really good indicators with any keris blade is the way in which the ron dha is cut. The ron dha on this keris shows absolutely no consistency of form, and nothing that is identifiable as any known form, but it does show a form that mimics the elements of a correctly cut Palembang or Javanese ron dha, almost as if the maker had seen a correctly made keris and tried to remember what it looked like. Again, the prominent ada-ada, a distinctive feature in some Javanese keris, but not to this extent, and the number of waves? An abomination and an insult. This blade was not made by any empu, nor any pandai keris, it was made by a talented tukang besi at a customer's direction.