Execution keris panjang ? Age ??

[GIO]

My opinion is that there was the need to dress a bare blade and somebody carved a rough hilt in an approximate Java style. As to the scabbard it probably was also roughly made for another blade, possibly by the same carver.

[francantolin]

Hello,
so a non professional carver - popular/peasant work,
do you think it was made by sumatran people ?

Has someone please an example of sampir with this shape ?

Kind regards

[David]

Originally Posted by francantolin

so a non professional carver - popular/peasant work,
do you think it was made by sumatran people ?

I'm not sure why a Sumatran owner would carve dress for this keris that much more closely resembles Javanese dress, so my first inclination would be to think this blade was dressed for a Javanese owner.

[kai]

Hello Franc,

do you think it was made by sumatran people ?

Has someone please an example of sampir with this shape ?

This really may be a one-off - very little chance to narrow down its origin, I guess.

I agree with the others that the blade is good and genuine Sumatran keris panjang if maybe treated too harshly, possibly for cleaning purposes (resembling the approach on Java).

There are genuine Sumatran adaptations of the Jawa hilt; this doesn't look like any of those though.

As the others have commented, the scabbard is odd and non-traditional. Also the wood selection and usage is unusual. Considering the craftsmanship, I could imagine that these were made for this blade though.

We also have to keep in mind that there was quite some influx of Javanese workers (early transmigrasi) into Sumatra already during the colonial period. Maybe this could account for the non-traditional approach in fitting this keris?

Regards,
Kai

[francantolin]

Waoh ! Really interesting and detailed comments !
Thank's a lot !