Madura Wrongko's of Various Types?

A. G. Maisey · 3rd October 2006, 09:03 AM

Yes, I understand what you are saying Erik, but I personally think that what we are looking at can be accounted for by craftsman's variation within the same style---or by age.

For instance, that one of mine , as I mentioned, was a complete restoration, and it was very, very sad before I did it. I was probably only 18 or 19 when I restored that wrongko, and I had absolutely no idea of the importance of minor angle variations or contours. All I wanted to do was repair it and make it look OK. I may have altered any number of miniscule details on this wrongko when I sanded it down.

Along the same line of argument:- that one of yours is pure, clean, crisp and immaculate. Absolutely pristine condition. What might it lkook like if it had been repolished a few times, as is fairly usual with an old wrongko that has been given good use.

The one that was gifted to King William is actually slightly elongated, a bit like a Bali atasan, but the handle with it has the compressed "fat" look of the Bali/Madura handle.But that wrongko dates from nearly 200 years ago. Maybe the style we see now is how these developed in an alien environment.

There is no doubt at all that a very minor detail in a wrongko, a handle, or a blade can alter the name by which something should be known, but in respect of these Bali/Madura wrongkos, I personally am quite satisfied that they are all the same type, and the minor differences that we see are just variations in the hand of the carver, slight variations due to the period when carved, or even due to wear.

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3rd October 2006, 09:03 AM	#14
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 7,019	Yes, I understand what you are saying Erik, but I personally think that what we are looking at can be accounted for by craftsman's variation within the same style---or by age. For instance, that one of mine , as I mentioned, was a complete restoration, and it was very, very sad before I did it. I was probably only 18 or 19 when I restored that wrongko, and I had absolutely no idea of the importance of minor angle variations or contours. All I wanted to do was repair it and make it look OK. I may have altered any number of miniscule details on this wrongko when I sanded it down. Along the same line of argument:- that one of yours is pure, clean, crisp and immaculate. Absolutely pristine condition. What might it lkook like if it had been repolished a few times, as is fairly usual with an old wrongko that has been given good use. The one that was gifted to King William is actually slightly elongated, a bit like a Bali atasan, but the handle with it has the compressed "fat" look of the Bali/Madura handle.But that wrongko dates from nearly 200 years ago. Maybe the style we see now is how these developed in an alien environment. There is no doubt at all that a very minor detail in a wrongko, a handle, or a blade can alter the name by which something should be known, but in respect of these Bali/Madura wrongkos, I personally am quite satisfied that they are all the same type, and the minor differences that we see are just variations in the hand of the carver, slight variations due to the period when carved, or even due to wear.