European Piha Kaetta

ariel · 2nd January 2014, 05:58 AM

Not downplaying the beauty and the authentic techniques of the original Piha Kaettas, I am perfectly content with the European thing.
It is, IMHO, a nice homage to the Ceylonese original and does not pretend to be one: it is even signed by the master. It is a curiosity in the same sense as using Japanese motives in contemporary European art and fashion, or Japanese pictures of the late 19th/20th centuries employing purely European techniques. Weapons are no different: the Russians made yataghans in Zlatoust, the Venetians copied Moroccan Nimchas ( or was it the other way around? :-)), the Indonesians might have copied their Kerises from Indian examples, and the best contemporary examples of Nihonto are being made by Western masters and are commanding high prices even in Japan.

Art has no borders, and as long as it is not an outright deceitful fake , it is perfectly legitimate and should be judged on its own merits.

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2nd January 2014, 05:58 AM	#18
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Not downplaying the beauty and the authentic techniques of the original Piha Kaettas, I am perfectly content with the European thing. It is, IMHO, a nice homage to the Ceylonese original and does not pretend to be one: it is even signed by the master. It is a curiosity in the same sense as using Japanese motives in contemporary European art and fashion, or Japanese pictures of the late 19th/20th centuries employing purely European techniques. Weapons are no different: the Russians made yataghans in Zlatoust, the Venetians copied Moroccan Nimchas ( or was it the other way around? :-)), the Indonesians might have copied their Kerises from Indian examples, and the best contemporary examples of Nihonto are being made by Western masters and are commanding high prices even in Japan. Art has no borders, and as long as it is not an outright deceitful fake , it is perfectly legitimate and should be judged on its own merits.