Ethnographic Arms & Armour
 

Go Back   Ethnographic Arms & Armour > Discussion Forums > Keris Warung Kopi

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old 31st July 2014, 05:43 AM   #1
A. G. Maisey
Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6,676
Default Little Things

Mendak.

They are little things that can either make or break the presentation of a keris.

They should be of the correct type and correct quality to match the quality of the rest of the dress.

Good ones are difficult to get and good ones are not cheap.

Good old ones are sometimes prohibitively expensive, and for some years now it has been very, very difficult to find any decent old mendak at all.

Really old mendak are even more scarce.

Here are a few of mine.
Attached Images
   
A. G. Maisey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st July 2014, 12:59 PM   #2
Sajen
Member
 
Sajen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany, Dortmund
Posts: 8,417
Default

Beautiful pictures Alan! And agree with you that it is really difficult to get good old mendaks and also new ones of good quality. I see on your pictures some very old ones, which materials are they from? Very nice are the ones from gold, are they from pure gold or gold plated?

Regards,
Detlef
Sajen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st July 2014, 01:24 PM   #3
A. G. Maisey
Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6,676
Default

Yes, there are some very old mendak there. Bronze ones.

There are two gold ones I think, and they are set with diamonds --- usual low quality.
A. G. Maisey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st July 2014, 01:44 PM   #4
Jean
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,740
Default

Hello Alan,
Thank you for posting the pictures of these nice and rare items.
I take this opportunity to ask you which are the types of mendak suitable for East Java/ Madura krisses and Cirebon/ pesisiran krisses as it is not much documented nor clear to me.
Thank you and best regards
Jean
Jean is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 31st July 2014, 02:17 PM   #5
A. G. Maisey
Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6,676
Default

Rather than try to explain Jean, I'll do some more pics of these. Generally speaking they are a bit larger than Central Jawa and very often are just a shell, not constructed as the Central Jawa ones are.
A. G. Maisey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 1st August 2014, 02:03 AM   #6
A. G. Maisey
Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6,676
Default

Jean, it is my understanding that any of the mendak shown in these photos are correct for use with Madura, North Coast or East Jawa hilts.

However, we must bear in mind that everything shown here is old, at least 1930's. In the period following WWII it seems to have become normal practice to use Surakarta mendak with just about all Javanese/Madura keris. Sometimes we see Jogja mendak used as correct with Jogja keris, but Jogja mendak are not that easy to get and more often than not Surakarta mendak will be used with Jogjakarta keris too.
Attached Images
   
A. G. Maisey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 1st August 2014, 08:58 AM   #7
Jean
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,740
Default

Thank you Alan, what a nice collection and excellent reference for us!
Best regards
Jean
Jean is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2nd August 2014, 02:41 AM   #8
Battara
EAAF Staff
 
Battara's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 7,135
Default

Yes great reference for us indeed! Thank you.
Battara is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2nd August 2014, 08:23 AM   #9
A. G. Maisey
Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 6,676
Default

Thank you gentlemen, it may be a useful reference, but I do not know how it could be put to use, mendak like these very seldom appear for sale these days, probably all my older, better mendak were bought more than 20 years ago .
A. G. Maisey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2nd August 2014, 09:20 AM   #10
Jean
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,740
Default

On the European market we can sometimes find old mendak fitted on old family krisses and the sellers are not aware of their rarity.
Best regards
Jean
Jean is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:48 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Posts are regarded as being copyrighted by their authors and the act of posting material is deemed to be a granting of an irrevocable nonexclusive license for display here.