Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

ariel · 16th January 2016, 04:02 AM

I would like to draw your attention to 2 new Russian books that may be of interest

1. " Oruzhie Vostoka" ( Weapons of the East): ~ 225 page volume of very good photographs from the Hermitage collection , almost all from personal collections of Royal Family.
Author V. Obraztsov.
No English text. Russian commentaries are pretty pedestrian, which is not a deficiency for those who do not know Russian and want to have pictures only.
Mostly lavish objects reflecting Royal tastes. Mostly Turkish, Persian , Caucasian, very few from other areas.
The paper is glossy, the pics are excellent.

2. "The Mortal Beauty". A little from the collection of the State Museum of the East, but 90+% from private collections of Indian and Cninese weapons. ~ 370 pages on glossy paper.
Bilingual: everything (!) in Russian with excellent parallel English translation. Very good and informative descriptions.
Three articles on Indian military organization, typology of Indian weapons and history of the museum. For the Russian readers, who can't as a rule read any books in English, this is a godsend. But even for the native English speakers, these are well-organized and valid sources of information.
The objects are mostly mid-grade, not over -cleaned and very decent.

The Chinese section is a MASTERPIECE!!!
The 55 page long ( divide by 2 because of 2 languages) introductory chapter is written by Alexei Pastukhov, a pre-eminent Russian authority on SE Asian weapons. Since there is no book on the subject in English, I can't compare. But in and of itself this is the best,- by far,- introduction to Chinese weapons I have ever seen. Great overview, detailed descriptions, multiple small details that betray deep knowledge, excursions into history and organization of Chinese military. Excellent multiple pictures in color, examples of weapons from lavish to village-made. Unless they translate Huangfu's book from Chinese( I was told that it is a classic text) this chapter may be the best source for all of us.

I got both from

Zapas-slov@mail.ru
Mikhail Goldshtadt

Each cost me €50 including postage.
Taking into account that I have seen the Mortal Beauty on e-bay for a total of $120, this is a bargain. He takes PayPal.
I was very happy with the service.

Have a good reading and remember... There is no such thing as too many books:-)

16th January 2016, 04:02 AM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Two new Russian books I would like to draw your attention to 2 new Russian books that may be of interest 1. " Oruzhie Vostoka" ( Weapons of the East): ~ 225 page volume of very good photographs from the Hermitage collection , almost all from personal collections of Royal Family. Author V. Obraztsov. No English text. Russian commentaries are pretty pedestrian, which is not a deficiency for those who do not know Russian and want to have pictures only. Mostly lavish objects reflecting Royal tastes. Mostly Turkish, Persian , Caucasian, very few from other areas. The paper is glossy, the pics are excellent. 2. "The Mortal Beauty". A little from the collection of the State Museum of the East, but 90+% from private collections of Indian and Cninese weapons. ~ 370 pages on glossy paper. Bilingual: everything (!) in Russian with excellent parallel English translation. Very good and informative descriptions. Three articles on Indian military organization, typology of Indian weapons and history of the museum. For the Russian readers, who can't as a rule read any books in English, this is a godsend. But even for the native English speakers, these are well-organized and valid sources of information. The objects are mostly mid-grade, not over -cleaned and very decent. The Chinese section is a MASTERPIECE!!! The 55 page long ( divide by 2 because of 2 languages) introductory chapter is written by Alexei Pastukhov, a pre-eminent Russian authority on SE Asian weapons. Since there is no book on the subject in English, I can't compare. But in and of itself this is the best,- by far,- introduction to Chinese weapons I have ever seen. Great overview, detailed descriptions, multiple small details that betray deep knowledge, excursions into history and organization of Chinese military. Excellent multiple pictures in color, examples of weapons from lavish to village-made. Unless they translate Huangfu's book from Chinese( I was told that it is a classic text) this chapter may be the best source for all of us. I got both from Zapas-slov@mail.ru Mikhail Goldshtadt Each cost me €50 including postage. Taking into account that I have seen the Mortal Beauty on e-bay for a total of $120, this is a bargain. He takes PayPal. I was very happy with the service. Have a good reading and remember... There is no such thing as too many books:-)