Minangkabau State Keris
Full Description:
An important and fine keris dagger from the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. While keris with wooden scabbards and hilts are commonly found, those with gold mounts such as this one, are exciting discoveries. Only dignitaries and high-ranking officers of the Sultanate were allowed to use precious materials such as gold; keris with gold fittings were used as an indicator of rank and social status. This combination of a gold clad scabbard, gold ferrule (mendak) and hippopotamus ivory hilt indicate the use of this keris in royal courts known as Kraton.
The hilt, ukiran, is a type found in Eastern parts of Indonesia, in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, here it is in the form of an abstract, anthropomorphic figure, jawa demam, representing a half-human, half-bird figure. The cup-shaped ferrule in which the hilt sits is called a selut and is made of gold, with a fine filigree pattern depicting foliage, raised on a decorated stem.
The scabbard is made of wood, covered in embossed gold, depicting typical Sumatran decoration. The scabbard mouth, warangka, depicts three cartouches on each side: the front depicts the tree of luck, or tree of life, accompanied by two cartouches on each side depicting floral motifs. The back depicts a similar variety of cartouches of which the centrepiece depicts another auspicious symbol.
The scabbard sheath, pendok, is embossed with typical Sumatran floral designs surrounded by filigree outlines on the front. The back shows a chiselled lozenge pattern, with filigree borders and a stylistic crown inside each lozenge. The embossed endpiece of the scabbard, known as a buntut, is typically found in Minangkabau and shows a similar decoration of fine gold filigree (some minor dents and a small dark mark). At the top of the pendok there is a round amulet dress loop known as a toli toli, made of fine rods of gold forming the outlines of the amulet. At the centre, it is mounted with a stone called a hematite, which has a metal glaze, cut in an attractive facetted form. These amulets are meant as status symbol and are only suitable for the highest social ranks. Genuine toli toli like these are very hard to find on today’s market.
The blade, wilah, is older than the 19th century dress, dating from the 17th or 18th century it shows seven, luk, waves. The blade has a traditional structure and shows a linear and segmented forging pattern which is commonly seen on Sumatran blades. The cutting edge is a little darker, indicating this was made of a high-carbon iron. The blade is made in two pieces, the blade with the peksi, which is the tang supporting the hilt, and the ganja guard, which is placed separately on the blade. The ganja flows nicely into the forte of the blade which is decorated with a small protrusion called kembang cacang. This represents an elephant trunk, derived from Lord Ganesh the Hindu god, which represents flexibility and the ability to adapt and change with time, connecting the keris to the owner.