keris hilts for identification

[Green]

I had obtained these hilts recently and wonder if any of you can give information on them.

My understanding is this; the pale coloured ones are probably bones and the rest could be deer antlers? or even marine ivory? and they are from jawa ..ceribon?

What characters these figures are based on?

[Marcokeris]

IMO seem all by deer horn and came from Madura ....or North cost of Java (pulasir). They could represent Rakshasa or other demons.

[A. G. Maisey]

Yes, Marco is correct, this type of figure is what we usually refer to as a raksasa, they were commonly used along the north coast of Jawa, the pesisir, but these ones were probably quite recently carved in Madura. I cannot tell what the material is from a photograph, but most likely it is bone.

[Green]

Many thanks Alan and Marco for the explanation. The figures look like different characters . Wondering if each is a specific raksasa eg Ravana?or whatever?

And what kind of blades do they usually fitted to? (I mean would a bugis or spokal blade suitable for these or are they specific to certain dhapur?

[David]

Originally Posted by Green

Many thanks Alan and Marco for the explanation. The figures look like different characters . Wondering if each is a specific raksasa eg Ravana?or whatever?

And what kind of blades do they usually fitted to? (I mean would a bugis or spokal blade suitable for these or are they specific to certain dhapur?

Green, i seriously doubt that these hilts depict any specific raksasa, simply different artistic interpretations of the figure. The raksasa generally have fangs and flowing wavy hair as seem to be depicted in one way or another in all these examples.
These would not be appropriate for any bugis blades really. It isn't so much a matter of dhapur as the cultural region that they belong to. They would be best suited to blades from North Jawa.

[Green]

Many thanks David for the explanation.