Sorry to take so long in getting back to this thread but my PC has been behaving very badly of late. I have worked out how I can still usefully operate it. The man has been round and says he wants to take it away but I am not quite ready.
These pictures in question are from a new book of a university collection in Germany. The Asch Collection Gottingen- Siberia and Russian America, Culture and Art from the 1700s,-Prestel. I do not want write an essay as an invitation to discuss so here are just a few bits to start.
The Siberia and Russian America collection in the book is bulked out with some other stuff from China, Tibet, Europe and the middle east that does not interest me. It is not a book about weapons except for the two example shown. There are two pictures of the curved blade one a little bigger but still not good, can I see a snake on the blade? Africa? I have included the relevant text.
One thing the book did make me think of is the possible trade in iron from Siberia, quite possible centuries before the standard notion of trade from the west? We see small pieces of iron fashioned in very different way to European knives. I Know the Arctic peoples hand large canoe/sea vessels perhaps room for small pieces of iron was found on these craft. The metals would not have been abundant for the Siberians although available from the northern far east?
Anyway here are the pictures. comments welcome.
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