Javanese Keris – Pamor Bonang Rinenteng

Javanese Keris – Pamor Bonang Rinenteng

An old straight-bladed Javanese Keris – Pamor Bonang Rinenteng . The wooden sheath is dressed in a thin layer of brass wrapped around the body with an impressed pattern on one side with several small dents in the metal. The mendak is a simple type with small clear stones set around the waist. The warangka shows some old woodworm damage.

In the twentieth century and probably before, there was a distinction between “trade” keris destined for a dealer for the open market and those that were commissioned. The latter was much more carefully made following prescribed rituals and became more significant pieces; each matched to an individual and having a spirit.

The world of the Javanese smiths was a group apart, practising basic alchemy, “marrying” iron from the earth and meteorites of the heavens to create intricate patterns on the blade (pamor).

High on the western slopes of Mount Lawu near Surakarta sits Candi Sukuh, a 15th-century temple featuring a remarkable stone relief of a working forge. In traditional Javanese culture, a blacksmith’s workshop is a sacred space where raw iron turns into a spiritual object. Because Javanese cosmology views the surrounding mountains as the home of the ancestors, the forge fire acted as a bridge to the spirit realm. As the blacksmith hammered the metal, the intense heat served as a channel, allowing ancestral energy to flow directly into the blade and give it life.

SPECIFICATIONS:

• AGE: – Unknown (more than 70 years)
• LENGTH: – 52cm
• BLADE LENGTH: – 38 cm
• WEIGHT: – 450gms
• #1520