A Very Interesting Kriss...But Where From??

A. G. Maisey · 16th April 2011, 12:54 PM

You're correct Gustav:- the greneng on Charles' blade is very definitely not Javanese, nor is it Balinese. In fact I cannot identify what pattern this greneng is. I do not know where this blade was made, only where it was not made.

There is a similar problem with the blade shown by Michael, it is most definitely not Javanese, it does display some Madura characteristics, but not consistently, nor strongly enough to definitely tag it as Madura. I don't know where it is from, but I do know it was not made in Jawa.

Spunjer · 16th April 2011, 10:17 PM

Here's a snippet that might be of interest to you, Charles, in regards to on how cultures mingled back in those days on that little corner of the world.

The Sulu Archipelago seems to have become the dumping ground for the Oriental world. Here you find renegade Arabs; native Indian soldiers, for whom India has become too hot; even the Sudan, bad as it is, occasionally has a man so bad, he has to drift to Sulu. Like a Western mining camp of old, Sulu is full of adventure. - John F. Bass, Harper's Weekly, November 18, 1899

That little inside joke, on finding a wootz kris blade, might not be so far fetched, after all...

A. G. Maisey · 16th April 2011, 11:34 PM

Wootz in Javanese keris is not at all far fetched.

It has been positively identified in the examinations carried out by Prof. Jerzy Piaskowski, I have handled Javanese blades that I considered to be of wootz, and it is known as "pamor urap-urap" ( hurap-hurap, urab-urab, hurab-hurab) in Solo.

It is mentioned by Harsinuksmo, but regrettably his illustration of this pamor does not agree in the slightest degree with the actual pamor.

16th April 2011, 12:54 PM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,019	You're correct Gustav:- the greneng on Charles' blade is very definitely not Javanese, nor is it Balinese. In fact I cannot identify what pattern this greneng is. I do not know where this blade was made, only where it was not made. There is a similar problem with the blade shown by Michael, it is most definitely not Javanese, it does display some Madura characteristics, but not consistently, nor strongly enough to definitely tag it as Madura. I don't know where it is from, but I do know it was not made in Jawa.

16th April 2011, 10:17 PM	#2
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	Here's a snippet that might be of interest to you, Charles, in regards to on how cultures mingled back in those days on that little corner of the world. The Sulu Archipelago seems to have become the dumping ground for the Oriental world. Here you find renegade Arabs; native Indian soldiers, for whom India has become too hot; even the Sudan, bad as it is, occasionally has a man so bad, he has to drift to Sulu. Like a Western mining camp of old, Sulu is full of adventure. - John F. Bass, Harper's Weekly, November 18, 1899 That little inside joke, on finding a wootz kris blade, might not be so far fetched, after all...

16th April 2011, 11:34 PM	#3
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,019	Wootz in Javanese keris is not at all far fetched. It has been positively identified in the examinations carried out by Prof. Jerzy Piaskowski, I have handled Javanese blades that I considered to be of wootz, and it is known as "pamor urap-urap" ( hurap-hurap, urab-urab, hurab-hurab) in Solo. It is mentioned by Harsinuksmo, but regrettably his illustration of this pamor does not agree in the slightest degree with the actual pamor.