BUGIS KERIS 9 LUK for comments or fun

A. G. Maisey · 20th March 2008, 11:41 PM

Maybe this wrongko was not original to the blade, but quite frankly, I still cannot see sufficient to allow me to say one way or the other. Yes, I can see the opening in front of the sirah cecak, but the kembang kacang projects beyond the sirah cecak; yes I can see the amount that the top of the gonjo sits above the curve of the wrongko, but the gonjo is abnormally straight, yes, I can see that the buntut urang sits proud of the wood, but I can also see that this is a large and substantial blade, and the joint of the gambar to gandar has not been reset.

It is also a fact of life that not all keris blades had their wrongkos made by master craftsmen who invariably achieved a perfect fit of blade to wood. Many old blades were fitted to wrongkos that were already made , not old, pre-used wrongkos, but wrongkos that were held ready by a market tukang who fitted the blade while the customer waited. I have seen many old Javanese blades in such wrongkos, and the fitting is often far from perfect.I can only assume that similar market practices existed in other places than Jawa.

Yes, maybe this wrongko is not original to the blade, but from what I have so far seen in these pics, I could not say one way or the other--- put it this way:- I would not gamble money on being certain about one thing or the other.

20th March 2008, 11:41 PM	#1
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,015	Maybe this wrongko was not original to the blade, but quite frankly, I still cannot see sufficient to allow me to say one way or the other. Yes, I can see the opening in front of the sirah cecak, but the kembang kacang projects beyond the sirah cecak; yes I can see the amount that the top of the gonjo sits above the curve of the wrongko, but the gonjo is abnormally straight, yes, I can see that the buntut urang sits proud of the wood, but I can also see that this is a large and substantial blade, and the joint of the gambar to gandar has not been reset. It is also a fact of life that not all keris blades had their wrongkos made by master craftsmen who invariably achieved a perfect fit of blade to wood. Many old blades were fitted to wrongkos that were already made , not old, pre-used wrongkos, but wrongkos that were held ready by a market tukang who fitted the blade while the customer waited. I have seen many old Javanese blades in such wrongkos, and the fitting is often far from perfect.I can only assume that similar market practices existed in other places than Jawa. Yes, maybe this wrongko is not original to the blade, but from what I have so far seen in these pics, I could not say one way or the other--- put it this way:- I would not gamble money on being certain about one thing or the other.