Types of Keris

[Sajen]

A possible Sumbawa keris.

[Sajen]

A Peninsula keris, I think Terengganu. Sorry for the fuzzy picture. My cat like this keris.

[Sajen]

At last my Tajong keris.

The here shown keris are by far not all types and origins you can find but I want to let others also something to show!

[Gavin Nugent]

The Keris appeal...

Great Question Ron, and one I'll never fully understand in my lifetime so praise the forum and its generous members and other collectors who give their precious time, I am in debt to both.

I got caught on some time back when I first obtained the Kelling Hall collection and started to become a closet Keris collector and the more I look and learn the more I feel like Russel Crowe writing on walls in "A Beautiful Mind"...If I kept writing notes I'd fill the walls of the house on what's from where with how many things in the Keris world came to be and melded together in different regions over the centuries...I've also learnt even the most learned student may not see eye to eye perfectly due to such a massive cross regional influence in the seas south of Asia.

This is my only Java Keris, one I know very little about. The rest of my 40 something collection is from Pattani, Malaysia and Sumatra...I personally find these the most appealing.

Gavin

[Spunjer]

it's definitely a hugh undertaking, something that has to be taken very patiently. for now i'm trying to approach this from the biggest to the smallest, kinda like taxonomy. i reckon starting with general locations would be, well, a good place to start.
Bali seems to stand out, and so are Bugis. thanks for the basic breakdown on Java, yuuzan, i'm starting to see the difference. Detlef, thanks for the pictures. they're big help! let me ask you this though: what's the difference between the branggah keris, cirebon keris and the madura keris??? sure the pommels are different, but from my novice eyes, the wrangka on the scabbard look similar?

[Spunjer]

also, what's a peninsular keris?

btw, thanks for the posting your keris, Gavin. beautiful indeed!

[kai]

Hello Ron,

let me ask you this though: what's the difference between the branggah keris, cirebon keris and the madura keris??? sure the pommels are different, but from my novice eyes, the wrangka on the scabbard look similar?

Yup, similar. Look for the differences though!

also, what's a peninsular keris?

Malay peninsula, a geographic term that includes some areas nowadays under Thai administration.

btw, thanks for the posting your keris, Gavin. beautiful indeed!

Yeah, forumites seem to do their best to spoil Ron...

Regards,
Kai

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Spunjer

let me ask you this though: what's the difference between the branggah keris, cirebon keris and the madura keris??? sure the pommels are different, but from my novice eyes, the wrangka on the scabbard look similar?

Will post them side by side again that you can study the difference.

From left to right: Yogya branggah, Solo ladrang, Cirebon, Madura daunan and to add more confusion a other form, maybe from Madura or the North of Java.

[Spunjer]

ahh, danke schoen, Detlef! individually taken, i can't tell the difference between the wrangka... i see it now. although i did notice earlier that the madura had a carvings on the one side which i thought was irrelevant but evidently it doesn't.
it's a very complex thing indeed, and one that needs a long time to learn. thanks for everyone's insight so far!