[kai]

Hello Alan,

Thanks a lot for your response!

To a traditionally orientated Javanese aristocrat, even today, the idea of "Jawa" means the "Land of Jawa", not the "Island of Jawa". All within the Land of Jawa is worthwhile and legitimate, all outside the Land of Jawa is --- oh well, isn't it a pity? In other words, not relevant, doesn't count.

Yes, I am aware of this Mataram lineage bias (and the mutual display of ignorance regarding the other descendant line). I note though that considering Mojo and earlier periods, the restriction on Orang Jawa does not seem to apply to the tangguh system. I'd guess that the early formative years (late Mojo, early Mataram, Blambangan, Banten, early Bali, etc. are probably not the forte of the tangguh system - especially when looking at well-preserved blades from old European collections...

I cannot give a proper opinion from an image on a computer screen. The best I can do is to give a very qualified opinion.

In my opinion, and based upon what I believe I can see, the keris shown in post #1 of this thread is stylistically Javanese, where "Javanese" is to be understood as "Island of Jawa". It appears to display characteristics that do not permit an opinion to be given as to a precise geographic point of origin. The pawakan (overall visual impression) tends towards Banten, but other characteristics tend towards East Jawa. I am not able to form an opinion on where it might have been made. To my mind, there is no certainty at all as to geographic point of origin.

Thanks heaps, Alan!

Regards,
Kai