Silver Pattani Tajong keris hilt

In the Pattani region of Southern Thailand and the border region with Kelantan in Northern Malaysia we find a very unique type of keris hilt called ‘Tajong‘ or ‘Pekaka‘. These keris types are mostly referred to as ‘Pattani keris’ or ‘Kingfisher keris’, of which the latter is actually wrongly adopted due to its similarities in appearance with the kingfisher, but it actually represents an angry demonic Wajang figure. The hilts seen to originate from ancient Hinduism, like Vishnu and Garuda, but changed esthetically during Islamic influence.

The hilts vary during the development of time, ‘tajong‘ hilts from the 17th century have very long stretched snouts, while the examples from the late 18th and early 19th century, like our example here, have elegant shortened snouts and decorative elements on the entire hilt, such as scrolls of foliage, a crown-like finial and a maw full of teeth. The later examples from late 19th and the 20th century and beyond have very elaborately carved floral patterns all over and very distinctive snouts with a strongly curved tip, often clad in silver or suasa.

This example consists of a wooden core, finished with a very fine layer of repoussé silver. A technique often seen on Malay keris hilts, like our example here sold in 2022 or like the famous ‘Tajong‘ counterpart, the ‘Coteng‘.

‘Tajong‘ keris in this quality are attributed to warriors within the royal courts and are rarely seen on today’s art market.