A KERIS

Description:

Indonesia, Lombok, the blade possibly early 18th c., the mounting 20th c.
L. 43 (Klinge) / 81 cm
The blade of this exceptional keris is wavy, in 9 waves(luk), in the shape sempana. Very powerful blade without pamor(kelengan). Inscriptions in silver ausia, in a Muslim context. Meaning: la ilaha ilallah Mu-hammad rasulluh - no god but Allah and Mohamed is his prophet Allah. The blade flanks are hollow, with a pronounced centre ridge(ada-ada). The sorsoran (the base of the blade) has the characteristic iron carvings. These include: jenggot, greneng, sekar kajang, tikel alis, lambe gajah. In their entirety, they refer to the elephant as a Hindu symbol of power and legitimate rule. The blade is probably of Javanese origin due to its greneng design, dating from the 18th century or even older. Similar blades are sometimes attributed to the Mataram-Kartasura era (cf.SNKI 2010: 334). Similar blades have been preserved in various European collections of the earliest provenance. The handle is grantim-shaped and of particularly high quality, with finely woven silver threads covering the wooden core. The curled tail of an animal or plant shoot is recognisable at the top. The scabbard has a sesrengetan boat-shaped mouthpiece, known as a ladrang in Javanese. The formal model is probably a ship, in reference to Austronesian origin myths and the origin of the ancestors "from the sea" (Austronesian migration). The scabbard body is made of whalebone, with a scabbard cover made of finely embossed silver. In Lombok, kerise are only established among the upper classes. The population of Lombok is made up of 85% Sasak, 10 to 15% Balinese and minorities of Chinese, Arabs, Javanese and Sumbawanese. Indonesian and various dialects of the Sasak language are spoken on Lombok. The Sasak are ethnically and culturally closely related to the Balinese. Around 90% of the inhabitants of Lombok have been followers of Islam since the 16th century, which is called Waktu Lima in its predominantly orthodox form on Lombok. A small minority of the Sasak are followers of the syncretic religion Waktu Telu, a mixture of Islam, Balinese Hinduism and ancestor worship.
From an old German private collection, assembled sind the 1950s - Minor traces of age
Lit.: SNKI (2011): Keris untuk Dunia (Keris for the World). Jakarta. - A. Weihrauch (2002): Ursprung und Entwicklungsgeschichte des indonesischen Kris. Historische und metallurgische Untersuchungen. Basel (Dissertation). - IFICAH (2015): Götter-Schmiede. Balinesische Zeremonialklingen im kulturellen Kontext. Wohlesbostel. - Neka, P.W.S. (2010): Keris Bali Bersejarah. Neka Art Museum, Ubud.