| An Elegant Javanese Keris With a well balanced blade of five waves or "Luks," and a superbly patterned "Pamor- unthuk banyu," executed in high contrast material. "Unthuk Banyu," is translated by Tammens as "foam bubbles, in spite of it being a rare and unusual motif, it is not select and can be carried by everyone." The "wrongko" or sheath, is in the Tegal style( a city on the NW coast of Java), sometimes refered to as "teratai", or lotus flower. It is flowingly carved from a dark chocolate and gold colored wood with a striated grain. The "pendok" (or sheath cover) is silver on brass, deeply embossed by hand with a Modang/leaf motif. Average time to produce such a blade by traditional means- 16 to 45 days, such a "Ukrian" or handle- upwards of a week, with times at the lower end of the spectrum attainable only by top craftsmen. The handle is carved from bone, well patinated, in a north coast of Java Wayang form, with dense foliate carving across its facial area. The "mendak," the ring between the handle and blade, is made of hundreds of small silvered globules of metal assembled by hand in a "lung wideng" pattern. The blade length is 14" and the overall length is 19.25 inches. |