Another Blade for ID please.

[A. G. Maisey]

I cannot see evidence of a core.

I can see several indicators that incline me to think East Jawa, maybe Madura, after 1850.

The after 1850 guess is because it does not look as if it has a core and material of adequate quality might not have been available pre-1850.

Garap is careless, manufacture would have been low cost.

I do not think it is Kamardikan.

[milandro]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

I cannot see evidence of a core.

I can see several indicators that incline me to think East Jawa, maybe Madura...

I do not think it is Kamardikan.

Thank you Alan, so, if you were to advise a new Sarong a Maduran sarong wou/ld be appropriate? I have a friend who has one and that maybe fitting the blade , he has already fitted 3 blades to Sarongs and he possess the ability to do so.

[jagabuwana]

Milandro, I know you didn't ask me directly, but I hope you allow me to interject.

The subject of what cultural/regional style to dress a keris in seems to yield different answers and expectations, depending on your view.

Collectors seem to value having the dress match the keris. But this wasn't much of a concern historically. A keris can travel pretty far from where it started and where it was originally dressed. What's more important is that the keris' sheath and handle are in good condition.

If you'd like advice as to the aesthetic suitability or tastefulness of the current dress, then I'm sure more experienced members of this forum can weigh in.

But if you want to know whether it should be Madura, or Solo, or Malay etc., then it's more about whether you want the kind of uniformity that's valued in the collector world.

[milandro]

Thank you Jagabuwana for your much valued opinion

I begin to realize that indeed things like this are very relative in the world of the kris.
I will probably send it to a friend and he will see whether to dress it himself with a suitable dress or send it to Indonesia to have it dressed in a pleasing manner for me.

[A. G. Maisey]

Milandro, Jaga is pretty much correct with what he has written about dress for blades, but I will extend his comments just a little.

We need to make this decision about dress on a case by case basis.

If I had Mataram Sultan Agung keris that needed to be dressed I would not consider putting it into anything other than good quality Solo or Jogja dress, I'd probably use a silver pendok and I'd try for the best wrongko I could find, I would want a good quality hilt, preferably an older tayuman one, and a good quality silver mendak.

This sort of dress would cost a lot of money, the blade would also have a high value.

At the end of the exercise I'd have a pretty expensive keris, and one that not a real lot of collectors could afford, or for that matter, would have the education to appreciate.

However, as the quality of the blade to be dressed decreased, so would the amount of money that should be spent on its dress also decrease:- it is a totally pointless exercise to put an average or lesser quality blade into high quality dress. You can never get your invested money back again, you must tune the dress to the keris itself.

So, when we talk about sending an average blade back to Jawa or Bali to have it dressed, we need to consider the costs involved, and that comes down to just one question:- can I get my investment back if I want to sell in a few years time?

All collectors in all fields do sell, its the way we build a better & better collection.

For this keris of yours, if it were mine, I would probably use something second hand, I would not take it Jawa to get it done, I'd do it myself, if I had just bought it in Jawa, I'd give it to a tukang wrongko there to do. This is easy for me, because I normally spend two or three months every year in Jawa/Bali. It is more difficult for people who do not regularly visit Indonesia & who do not have the connections.

As for style of dress for your keris, any Javanese dress would be OK, Solo or Jogja would probably be what it finished up with, simply because these two styles are the most easily obtained.

Before diving into the deep end and sending it across the world to get it done, I suggest that you look around locally and see what you can come up with, then make this a learning exercise and do the fitting yourself, trust me, it is not rocket science --- and you can always ask for advice from people who have done this little job themselves.

But stick with a Jawa or Madura style, forget Bali or anything else from outside Jawa/Madura.

[milandro]

cheers Alan, thank you