New keris I picked up. I know nothing about them. Help!

[mercierarmory]

Oh, and the blade is about 14 3/4" for a total length of almost 19".

Mike

[Rick]

Here, a blade that shares some similar features to yours but in a very different dress .

Your dress of course is Javanese .

As for the blade, I could not speak to the origin of it .

[David]

This hilt has some very interesting variations on the style that i do not believe i have seen before. It has a very distinct arch to the "back" and what appears to be a wooded mendak. The cecekan also seem to have a unique stylization to them. Has anyone else seen this style of planar ukiran before?
The blade, though simple, has an elegant flow and does seem to be nicely crafted. It appears to have a polish similar to what we would see on Balinese keris, though i am not sure that is a good indicator of origin. It is my understanding that this was once the desired finish on Javanese blades as well. Rick's blade is indeed similar to this one in basic form, yet there are subtle style differences here. Both this and Rick's blade do seem to me to be blades from Jawa.

[Gustav]

Dear Mike,

is there a possibility to see the tang? (a question I normally hate)

does the blade fit thightly in the sheath mouth?

[David]

It should also be noted that the hilt is facing in the wrong direction. It needs to come about 180º with the cecekan facing towards the front edge of the blade.

[mercierarmory]

Lets just say how paranoid I was to rotate the grip! It was on very tight and I was a little scared to break something. However, I was able to turn it in the correct orientation. While doing that, I was able to slip it out off the tang a bit to get a photo, but I didn't want to pull anymore than this. It is still on very snug. It looks like a steel rod perhaps 1/4" in diameter.

The blade does fit snugly into the sheath. You can tell it was carved specifically for this piece.

Mike

[David]

You needn't worry much. Keris hilts are fairly easy to take on and off.

[Jean]

Originally Posted by David

This hilt has some very interesting variations on the style that i do not believe i have seen before. It has a very distinct arch to the "back" and what appears to be a wooded mendak. The cecekan also seem to have a unique stylization to them. Has anyone else seen this style of planar ukiran before?

IMO this is a variant of Nunggak Semi hilt from East Java/ Surakarta Eastern with an integral mendak.
I attach pictures of a rather similar but "fatter" hilt with a base shaped as a lotus flower.
Regards

[mercierarmory]

So how do you date something like mine? Is it 20th century?

[Jean]

Originally Posted by mercierarmory

So how do you date something like mine? Is it 20th century?

I would estimate that the hilt & sheath are about 50 years old as there is no visible patina but the integral mendak is not common nowadays, and this is consistent with the purchasing date stated by the seller (50's to 60's) if he can be trusted.
Regarding the blade with pamor kelengan (not apparent), it could have been made at the same time or earlier (but probably not before 20th century), I don't know but agree that it looks elegant and well made.
Other opinions are welcome.
Regards

[David]

Originally Posted by Jean

I would estimate that the hilt & sheath are about 50 years old as there is no visible patina but the integral mendak is not common nowadays, and this is consistent with the purchasing date stated by the seller (50's to 60's) if he can be trusted.
Regarding the blade with pamor kelengan (not apparent), it could have been made at the same time or earlier (but probably not before 20th century), I don't know but agree that it looks elegant and well made.
Other opinions are welcome.
Regards

Jean, what specifically about this blade puts it clearly in the 20th century for you.