Rajah Kalacakra Keris

[David]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Hello Donny,

you suggest that this blade is very old, is there any proof for this? And when it is a worthy blade why it's fitted which such a poor mendak and like it seems also poor hilt? To my eyes this blade look rather recent, like always I could be wrong!

Salam,
Detlef

Detlef, i agree, i too am having some difficulty seeing this keris as being very old. I would think that tracing it back to anybody's great great grandfather would place it at least to mid 19th. I'm not convinced it is quite that old. I am not sure how long the scorpion motif has been used in Jawa given Alan's suggestion that it can't be found in early or even late Classical Periods, but the example that van Duuren cites is at least pre-WWII. I would love to see some examples of it that are clearly 19th C, but have yet to come across them. Even if this keris has some age i certainly would not place it anywhere near as old as Late Classical period though. Of course, as i have mentioned before, i have seen numerous contemporary keris that have also placed this motif on blades for an added buyer's incentive. It is an interesting keris though. As the old adage goes though, but the keris, not the story. Frankly i find the tambal pamor at the tip of the blade far more interesting than the scorpion kinatah.