Bugis keris

Bill · 16th March 2005, 04:55 PM

There are some things that are odd with this keris. As Tom pointed out, repeated washing should have left the edges uneven. The keris seems petite, just to thin. The ganja seems to be original, just bent. Where the mendak touches the ganja there is a perfect indention so it fits perfectly. The indention is the same as the height of the characters, too much of a coincidence. A likely senerio: old blade damaged by etching or rust or combination of both; heavy filing to remove damaged edges. The top of the ganja worked to add the characters; small amounts of gold added for effect or even gilding that fell off. Holes filed to cover up damage or to add to the "speciality" of the keris. The sampir fits well, so it must have been made for the blade after its "makeover". The groves are filled with rust and the ganja is too. I have it soaking in pinnapple juice, after I clean & oil it, I'll post some more pics. Even though I think the keris has been "doctored up", I still like it.

nechesh · 16th March 2005, 11:07 PM

Well, you know Bill, that's the thing about keris. They each have their own personalities and if you are drawn to one you can like it inspite of it's problems. Kinda like people i suppose.

As for the cemplong (combong) issue, i am pretty sure that true cemplong is done intentionally by the empu. It is NOT a forging defect. I believe that Rasdan's ideas on this term are a general misunderstanding. Firstly, i believe there are very few real cemplong keris to be found. This has only perpetuated this misunderstanding since many things that are not cemplong have come to be regarded as so. I don't think van Duuren's example is true cemplong either, which only adds to the confusion when it is being presented by an expert in the field. His example looks to me like it may be a forging flaw. Most of what passes for cemplong is merely the wearing through at the sogokan after years of acid washing. This, however, is not due to a forging flaw, just wear at the naturally thinest point in the keris. I believe that is what happened to Bill's keris and then someone argmented it to even it out and make it look intententional. I have looked at quite a lot of keris in the past few years and have only seen ONE true cemplong in that time. It is currently owned by one of our members, though i would be surprised if he posted photos of it. I would think that a true cemplong keris would be highly prized by a dukun or anyone with a keen interest in the mystical side of keris, including native Javanese.

16th March 2005, 04:55 PM	#1
Bill Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Chicago area Posts: 327	There are some things that are odd with this keris. As Tom pointed out, repeated washing should have left the edges uneven. The keris seems petite, just to thin. The ganja seems to be original, just bent. Where the mendak touches the ganja there is a perfect indention so it fits perfectly. The indention is the same as the height of the characters, too much of a coincidence. A likely senerio: old blade damaged by etching or rust or combination of both; heavy filing to remove damaged edges. The top of the ganja worked to add the characters; small amounts of gold added for effect or even gilding that fell off. Holes filed to cover up damage or to add to the "speciality" of the keris. The sampir fits well, so it must have been made for the blade after its "makeover". The groves are filled with rust and the ganja is too. I have it soaking in pinnapple juice, after I clean & oil it, I'll post some more pics. Even though I think the keris has been "doctored up", I still like it.

16th March 2005, 11:07 PM	#2
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	Well, you know Bill, that's the thing about keris. They each have their own personalities and if you are drawn to one you can like it inspite of it's problems. Kinda like people i suppose. As for the cemplong (combong) issue, i am pretty sure that true cemplong is done intentionally by the empu. It is NOT a forging defect. I believe that Rasdan's ideas on this term are a general misunderstanding. Firstly, i believe there are very few real cemplong keris to be found. This has only perpetuated this misunderstanding since many things that are not cemplong have come to be regarded as so. I don't think van Duuren's example is true cemplong either, which only adds to the confusion when it is being presented by an expert in the field. His example looks to me like it may be a forging flaw. Most of what passes for cemplong is merely the wearing through at the sogokan after years of acid washing. This, however, is not due to a forging flaw, just wear at the naturally thinest point in the keris. I believe that is what happened to Bill's keris and then someone argmented it to even it out and make it look intententional. I have looked at quite a lot of keris in the past few years and have only seen ONE true cemplong in that time. It is currently owned by one of our members, though i would be surprised if he posted photos of it. I would think that a true cemplong keris would be highly prized by a dukun or anyone with a keen interest in the mystical side of keris, including native Javanese.