Five elements in a mendahk, is it magic?

Interested Party · 7th November 2024, 03:57 PM

Based on post #9, third picture down. If the bottom left is a clear crystal it could represent water in the Chinese system and Aether/Askha in the other systems. If the three o'clock item is flint or chert it could be fire or earth. I am not sure what the other items are though the bottom right looks to be clay. The top could be paper thus wood, and/or it could have something written on it? The 9 o'clock item is a complete mystery to me. We would be missing metal or Ap/water and Bayu/air depending on which system we were using.

Sajen · Yesterday, 12:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Interested Party

The 9 o'clock item is a complete mystery to me.

Looks like a shark tooth to my eyes!?

Interested Party · Yesterday, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sajen

Looks like a shark tooth to my eyes!?

That crossed my mind, but I hope the owner would chime in. I couldn't even guess at the texture of the object when I viewed it objectively.

David · Today, 06:21 PM

A lot of guessing going on here. I will say that it would be a pretty small shark's tooth if that is what it is. I'd also say that unless Hugh is willing to dissect this and remove all the pieces for closer examination we can just keep on guessing what these objects are all day. And of course, even after positive identification, the actual intent here would probably remain only a guess as well. So the question here is do we undo what has been done here or leave it be. Frankly the mendhak is pretty damaged. If it was my keris i might be inclined to replace it in the ensemble. If it was going to leave it on the keris i would probably not consider taking it apart, but if i were to retire it it might be interesting to see if more information is available. For instance, is there anything written on the paper. But ultimately these decision will be upo to Hugh and i respect his choices either way.

Interested Party · Today, 07:11 PM

I thought it was an interesting game of speculation and seeing if the elements fit neatly into one of the larger systems of thought. I think the answer is, "no they do not." It also served as a refresher for information I had not pondered in many years. David, I believe you are right that we will never know for certain what this was intended to be. To me it seemed that if a probable makeup of the objects was determined, then a likely ethnic group of the previous owner could be guessed at. On the technical side I have been curious what the medium that all the objects are held in. A very fibrous cutler's resin? I am very conservative and would not damage the history to try to find the actual nature of the objects.

A. G. Maisey · Today, 08:37 PM

May I most gently suggest that a careful reading of posts #3, #9, #11, #13 might be of some value?

7th November 2024, 03:57 PM	#1
Interested Party Member Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: Eastern Sierra Posts: 474	Based on post #9, third picture down. If the bottom left is a clear crystal it could represent water in the Chinese system and Aether/Askha in the other systems. If the three o'clock item is flint or chert it could be fire or earth. I am not sure what the other items are though the bottom right looks to be clay. The top could be paper thus wood, and/or it could have something written on it? The 9 o'clock item is a complete mystery to me. We would be missing metal or Ap/water and Bayu/air depending on which system we were using. Attached Images Last edited by Interested Party; 7th November 2024 at 04:09 PM.

Today, 06:21 PM	#4
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,126	A lot of guessing going on here. I will say that it would be a pretty small shark's tooth if that is what it is. I'd also say that unless Hugh is willing to dissect this and remove all the pieces for closer examination we can just keep on guessing what these objects are all day. And of course, even after positive identification, the actual intent here would probably remain only a guess as well. So the question here is do we undo what has been done here or leave it be. Frankly the mendhak is pretty damaged. If it was my keris i might be inclined to replace it in the ensemble. If it was going to leave it on the keris i would probably not consider taking it apart, but if i were to retire it it might be interesting to see if more information is available. For instance, is there anything written on the paper. But ultimately these decision will be upo to Hugh and i respect his choices either way.

Today, 07:11 PM	#5
Interested Party Member Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: Eastern Sierra Posts: 474	I thought it was an interesting game of speculation and seeing if the elements fit neatly into one of the larger systems of thought. I think the answer is, "no they do not." It also served as a refresher for information I had not pondered in many years. David, I believe you are right that we will never know for certain what this was intended to be. To me it seemed that if a probable makeup of the objects was determined, then a likely ethnic group of the previous owner could be guessed at. On the technical side I have been curious what the medium that all the objects are held in. A very fibrous cutler's resin? I am very conservative and would not damage the history to try to find the actual nature of the objects.

Today, 08:37 PM	#6
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,894	May I most gently suggest that a careful reading of posts #3, #9, #11, #13 might be of some value?