If I offended anyone or ruffeled feathers, I apologize, as that was not my intent.
The high end, royalty pieces are indeed beautiful treasures, the only difficulty being that sometimes it's difficult not to "oooh" and "ahhhh" (even though that's just exactly what we are doing , at least I am, and not without a certain amount of envy, I might ad)about and truly not be able to contribute anything worthwhile.
For those who DO have such pieces, my only request is that when you post a photo, tell us (or me **grin**) all that you can about it....while I may envy the owner, that doesn't mean I'm not appreciative of being able to view it and when possible, learn all that I can....I certainly don't begrudge him the good fortune.
A fellow forum member brought some of the most magnificent keris that I've ever seen to my home and I'll be forever thankful, as it was a once in a lifetime experience.....as my then wife put it, it was one of the few times she'd seen me speechless.
For lesser pieces, don't be discoraged there either, for, just as in an army, there are generals and there are footsoldiers, with most of the true weapons coming from the later category.
It would be nice if the wars were fought by JUST the generals, but I don't see that happening any time soon.
In some societies, a blade grows with its owner, with it not unusual for a medioce blade to be dressed far in excess of what one would think it deserved, while in others only the very best blades will sport true finery and perhaps never have been used at all, for anything.
In my humble opinion, they ALL are to be admired (I've TRIED to make a blade.....what a sad ending for a piece of steel) for what went into making it, and often, what transpired, possibly because of it, afterwards.
Mike
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