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Old 31st May 2026, 06:05 AM   #8
A. G. Maisey
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Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 7,225
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Sorry it has taken me a while to respond to your questions Greg.

The blade is not old, it is post 1980.It appears to be of nice quality relative to age & type.

It is not a reproduction, keris are still actively produced in a number of places in Indonesia, most production is targeted at the local market. The keris is a required item of formal dress, so there is an active market for this artefact today. This blade was made in East Jawa, very probably in Madura, & if in Madura, most likely in the village of Aeng Tong-Tong.

The 2602 number could as well refer 2602 of our current Gregorian calendar. This number seems to have been inscribed in a rather peculiar way, it might not be a date at all, it could easily have some other purpose. One thing we can be fairly certain of is that 2602 has nothing at all to do with Japan.

The same can be said for the number 1807, we cannot have any idea at all what that number means, but personally, I would never wish to understand it as a date.

The crest appears to be the crest of the Jogja Kraton (ie, Ngayogyakarta Kraton). It is very common for Kraton & other crests to appear on the reverse face of a pendok, this most definitely is not any indication of a kraton or royal connection. Its a bit like the way a lot of people will wear the pullovers of their favourite football team or whatever, it simply indicates a personal support for the team, in this case it supports the idea of the kraton as a cultural leader.

Buta Bajang is as good a name as any for the hilt. Other people might well use different names, but Buta Bajang is OK.

Blade & pendok I consider to be current era. I am unable to estimate the age of the atasan (sampir) of the wrongko, I think it it most likely current era, but I would need to handle it to be sure, it is well sculpted & from a nice piece of pelet wood, I think I'd probably opt to name this pelet motif as nyamel, but others might have different ideas.

The separate elements of this complete keris appear to be of mid-quality current era production. The hilt makes it unwearable with Jogja formal dress, but as a collectable item, the complete keris presents well. To allow it to be worn as an item of Jogja formal dress the hilt would need to be changed to the Jogja nunggak semi style.

The mendak is a style that has been in use for many years, however, mendak of exactly this same style are still being made today. The gemstones are rose-cut rock crystal, a stone we call "yakut". I believe this mendak is very likely current era too.
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