Empus of the nom-noman era & their signatures

Jayaningkurnia · Yesterday, 10:04 AM

I have been going through book, articles, forums and videos to learn more about javanese kris. I noticed that for old ('sepuh') krises, often the name of legendary empus are used as identifier to signify distinction, such as sombro, supo/kasa/sedayu, ki nom/tundhung/sendang, bekeljati/modin, etc.

Meanwhile, for younger ('nom-noman') krises, usually they are identified by the name of the reigning PB or HB at the time, e.g. PB7 or HB5. This is despite better availability of written record on the empus who served in the two courts of Surakarta and Yogyakarta.

May I ask senior collectors/kris enthusiasts in this forum on your take re: the above observation? Also can you/how would you identify differences in the nom-noman kris made by the different empus/besalen? (or is this an irrelevant question since they are made to be uniform for each of the reigning sovereign).

Am keen to learn more about the innovations and characteristics of krisses made by empus of the nom-noman era: empu brojoguno (also brojokaryo and brojosentiko - brothers or different generations?), empu japan, empu tirtodongso, empu jayasukadgo; as well as the legendary besalen of mangkubumen, mloyokusuman, riyokusuman and sri manganti.

Thank you!

Yesterday, 10:04 AM	#1
Jayaningkurnia Member Join Date: Nov 2025 Posts: 10	Empus of the nom-noman era & their signatures I have been going through book, articles, forums and videos to learn more about javanese kris. I noticed that for old ('sepuh') krises, often the name of legendary empus are used as identifier to signify distinction, such as sombro, supo/kasa/sedayu, ki nom/tundhung/sendang, bekeljati/modin, etc. Meanwhile, for younger ('nom-noman') krises, usually they are identified by the name of the reigning PB or HB at the time, e.g. PB7 or HB5. This is despite better availability of written record on the empus who served in the two courts of Surakarta and Yogyakarta. May I ask senior collectors/kris enthusiasts in this forum on your take re: the above observation? Also can you/how would you identify differences in the nom-noman kris made by the different empus/besalen? (or is this an irrelevant question since they are made to be uniform for each of the reigning sovereign). Am keen to learn more about the innovations and characteristics of krisses made by empus of the nom-noman era: empu brojoguno (also brojokaryo and brojosentiko - brothers or different generations?), empu japan, empu tirtodongso, empu jayasukadgo; as well as the legendary besalen of mangkubumen, mloyokusuman, riyokusuman and sri manganti. Thank you!