KERIS BANTEN

[Sajen]

Dear Pak Ganjawulung,

is the blade also picit? I may to see this on your pictures.

sajen

[Rick]

Thanks so much Ganjawulung .
I have no idea what that material is; I do know the form is a natural for a hilt; almost as if Nature had intended it to be .

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Rick

Thanks so much Ganjawulung .
I have no idea what that material is; I do know the form is a natural for a hilt; almost as if Nature had intended it to be .

Maybe the hilt is from very old and patinated deer horn.

sajen

[BluErf]

Thanks for sharing Ganjawulung, but one question - the keris blade itself looked rather newish. And for a museum in Java, it seems rare that the keris is out of stained, and in a polished state (ok, it has some rust).

How does the museum know it is an authetic old keris? Also, come to think about it, the sheath is in immaculate condition; very crisp. who had preserved the wood so well before the acquisition by the museum?

Just some questions out of my own curiosity.

[Amuk Murugul]

Originally Posted by BluErf

Thanks for sharing Ganjawulung, but one question - the keris blade itself looked rather newish. And for a museum in Java, it seems rare that the keris is out of stained, and in a polished state (ok, it has some rust).

How does the museum know it is an authetic old keris? Also, come to think about it, the sheath is in immaculate condition; very crisp. who had preserved the wood so well before the acquisition by the museum?

Just some questions out of my own curiosity.

Hullo everybody,

Ganjawulung, perhaps it would've helped if you had explained that staining was not a traditional Soenda custom. This only started to become fashionable after the beginning of the 17th. C., when the Soenda (except Banten & Cirebon) had little choice but to become part of Mataram (Islam). A lot of Djawa culture then began to enter the Soenda culture, usually brought back by Soenda ruling class who had 'served their time' in Mataram.(e.g. the Gamelan is a prime example).

If the keris is a kadaton heirloom, then it was likely returned by the Dutch. Kadaton kerises disappeared after the dissolution of the Banten Sultanate. Some came to be in the possession of Chinese merchants. Others were already in Dutch museums.

Best,

[A. G. Maisey]

Thanks for posting this Pak Ganja.

Interesting indeed.

I have not been in Jakarta since 1978.

In 1976 I visted the old Musium Pusat, which I believe is now the National Musium.I photographed every keris that was on display. A check of those 30+ year old photos does not seem to show this keris. So let's assume it was in storage at that time --- either that or I missed ir, but frankly, I doubt that I did.

So Pak Ganja, my questions are these:-

do we know which Sultan of Banten owned this keris?

do we know when the Museum acquired this keris?

do we have provenance for this keris?

Indeed, a very interesting piece.

[David]

Indeed, Alan has asked one question i have been meaning to ask; which Sultan of Banten:
http://su.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasultanan_Banten

[ganjawulung]

Originally Posted by Sajen

is the blade also picit? I may to see this on your pictures.

In Malaysian term, yes, it has pichit, or 'pijetan' in Jawa. But we called too, "luk samun" (or 'secret waves' if you notice the blade at frontal view, actually this 'lurus' or straight blade is a blade with luks or waves -- usually 13-15 luks...). Next-time I would show you that "pichit" or "pijetan" or "pejetan" is a form of luks from frontal view.)

Originally Posted by Rick

I have no idea what that material is; I do know the form is a natural for a hilt; almost as if Nature had intended it to be .

Now I'm thinking as Sajen just told us, whether it was made of deer-horn, and not from "akar bahar"....

Originally Posted by BluErf

Thanks for sharing Ganjawulung, but one question - the keris blade itself looked rather newish. And for a museum in Java, it seems rare that the keris is out of stained, and in a polished state (ok, it has some rust).

How does the museum know it is an authetic old keris? Also, come to think about it, the sheath is in immaculate condition; very crisp. who had preserved the wood so well before the acquisition by the museum?

Just some questions out of my own curiosity.

I don't think so, BluErf. If you compare to other "Pajajaran' blade, or later blade of Cirebon era, than you will 'feel' the same feeling from handling the keris. And I believe, it is original, true old keris.

National Museum is not a young museum at all. It used to be called as Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, or The Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences. And was build or estabished by Governor General of The Netherlands East-Indies Council, Reinier de Klerk on 24th of April 1778. You will admire to see old but still looked very well maintained collection of this museum -- and of course, the "sister" Tropen museum in Amsterdam...

I have asked the museum's curator, why don't they stain the kerises? They said, they threat to keep the kerises the way they preserve old collection, with some certain solution...

Many fascinating old kerises are still kept in this old museum of Jakarta, and AFAIK in Amsterdam too...

GANJAWULUNG