One of my favourite hilt forms

[Sajen]

Another one from animal tooth, whale or dugong, I don't know.

[Sajen]

The best one in my opinion, very old, the pesi comes through in the back. A material I don't know, look like ivory but in a colour and texture I never have seen. You see the kissing lips?

[Sajen]

One from which remains only a fragment made from deer horn. But you still can see the high level of carving.

[Sajen]

The last one, again animal tooth, very figural with nice patina.

Enjoy!! And I hope to see yours, maybe it become a very interesting viewing thread!

[Battara]

Interesting examples. What is the janggelan hilt supposed to represent?

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Battara

Interesting examples. What is the janggelan hilt supposed to represent?

I simple don't know. I have read somewhere that it shall represent the "tree of life" but I would take this very, very carefully.

[ganjawulung]

Janggelan leaves (mesona palustris), could live almost everywhere in villages in Java, mostly in Magetan, Ponorogo and Pacitan in East Java. People here, they are used to plant this plantations deliberately, sun-dry the janggelan leaves, then sell them to certain buyers – to be used as raw material to make “cincau hitam” (black jelly) which have special aroma and taste, to be laid out on the dishes with natural “es buah” (fruit cocktail drink).

Why did javanese keris people create “janggelan hilts”? That’s still a question. The nature of janggelan hilts in reality, usually they are simple ornamented, and reflected as a simple hilt, for simple pusakas such as old betok, sombro betok etc... Many of them are made and carved on bones, but some are carved on elephant’s ivory too...

GANJAWULUNG