My Java keris

A. G. Maisey · 6th October 2016, 08:07 PM

Keris scabbards from before about 1400 seem to have been squarish in shape, somewhat similar to the scabbards that we now think of as Bugis.

By the first half of the 15th century a ladrangan style seems to have evolved.

There has been a theory floating around for a long time that the "boat" shape of some scabbards is in recognition of the ancestors having travelled by sea to settle in Jawa. I personally doubt this theory because the early ladrangan styles did not look nearly as boat-like as the much later Central Javanese styles, nor for that matter as boat-like as the North Coast styles, such as the one under discussion. My own feeling is that we simply have an instance of artistic advance.

I agree that kemuning might be a good bet for the scabbard wood.

6th October 2016, 08:07 PM	#20
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,992	Keris scabbards from before about 1400 seem to have been squarish in shape, somewhat similar to the scabbards that we now think of as Bugis. By the first half of the 15th century a ladrangan style seems to have evolved. There has been a theory floating around for a long time that the "boat" shape of some scabbards is in recognition of the ancestors having travelled by sea to settle in Jawa. I personally doubt this theory because the early ladrangan styles did not look nearly as boat-like as the much later Central Javanese styles, nor for that matter as boat-like as the North Coast styles, such as the one under discussion. My own feeling is that we simply have an instance of artistic advance. I agree that kemuning might be a good bet for the scabbard wood.