Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

fearn · 9th March 2005, 01:03 AM

Hi Mark,

Thanks for doing the hard work! Looking at it, I think it's actually "Lord of Swift Winds" (that first letter looks more like an L). The sword is the symbol of the element of air, so that makes sense.

Now we can have the real argument

--the blade has been dulled and engraved. Obviously this detracts from its value as a "pure example of an antique type" (however you parse that). OTOH, this is part of its history. To what degree is it worth erasing the history of a weapon to restore it to an assumed "ancestral" condition?

Personally, I think it would be kind of cool to have a known ritual sword, but tastes definitely differ.

So--comments? What makes this more genuine? Getting rid of the engraving and sharpening it, or leave it the way it is?

Fearn

9th March 2005, 01:03 AM	#9
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Hi Mark, Thanks for doing the hard work! Looking at it, I think it's actually "Lord of Swift Winds" (that first letter looks more like an L). The sword is the symbol of the element of air, so that makes sense. Now we can have the real argument --the blade has been dulled and engraved. Obviously this detracts from its value as a "pure example of an antique type" (however you parse that). OTOH, this is part of its history. To what degree is it worth erasing the history of a weapon to restore it to an assumed "ancestral" condition? Personally, I think it would be kind of cool to have a known ritual sword, but tastes definitely differ. So--comments? What makes this more genuine? Getting rid of the engraving and sharpening it, or leave it the way it is? Fearn