Expensive Swords.

[arnisador]

An article (http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50D17F735540C728DDDAD0894DE4044 82) in the 11 April 2006 NY Times discusses the sale of a "jade-hilted 18th-century ceremonial sword" at an auction in Hong Kong the previous day. It went for an "unexpected" $5.93 million (U.S.). It was a record price for a Chinese sword and in fact for any "imperial work of art" according to the article. The sword itself was a "steel-bladed Baoteng Saber" from a set of 90 made between 1736 and 1795.

[arnisador]

An article (http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/wsj/access/874872651.html?dids=874872651:874872651&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jul+29%2C+2005&author=Marcus+Baram&type=8_1984&desc=WEEKEND+JOURNAL) in the 29 July 2005 Wall Street Journal discusses some other Sotheby's auctions, and also Christie's auctions, of Islamic art. An Ottoman dagger from the 16th century went for $1.82 million ("many times the estimate"). A 17th century Mughal sword failed to sell at $140,000 in another auction. Of course, a fly swatter handle from the 17th or 18th century went for %1.57 million.

[arnisador]

Last weekend we saw the traveling King Tut exhibit (http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tutexhibit.htm) at the Field Museum in Chicago. One item was his burial dagger (http://touregypt.net/museum/tutl43.htm), made of gold.


As an illustration of the goldsmith's artistic ability and technical skill, this dagger, and particularly its sheath, are among the outstanding pieces of the collection. On the top of the pommel are the king's cartouches in applied embossed gold and a wreath of lily-palmettes in cloisonne work. On the underside are two figures of falcons holding in each claw the hieroglyphic symbol for 'eternity' (shen). The falcon was often represented in Egyptian art holding this symbol and, with wings outstretched, protecting a king. Probably it was intended to serve an amuletic purpose in this instance also.

Apparently it was intended for symbolic and magical purposes--many "toy" items were put in the pyramid for use in the afterlife, where they would somehow become fully functional.

Egyptian Edged Weapons (http://touregypt.net/featurestories/edgedweapons.htm)
Egyptian Projectile Weapons (http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/projectileweapons.htm)

[Brian R. VanCise]

I saw King Tut's exhibit in Chicago as well. The burial dagger was certainly a highlight!

[arnisador]

The McQueen auction affair (http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-11-09-mcqueen-auction_x.htm)


A buck-style folding knife with a 4-inch blade, wooden handle and carved brass accents ($7,000-$12,000) gets its value from the crudely etched inscription, "To Steve from Dutch" -- a reference to Von Dutch, the famed motorcycle and car pinstriper whose name is now all over T-shirts and hats.

"In that one item, you've captured two icons from another era," says Bonhams' Mark Osborne.

I have the actual article in front of me and it includes a close-up of the inscription on the knife.

Results from the auction here (http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-11-12-steve-mcqueen_x.htm), though I don't see the knife mentioned.

[arnisador]

Antique Nanotubes (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/28/science/28observ.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)

An article on the science behind Damascus sabers, with a nice picture of one; the print version isn't in color but does include a close-up of the blade.


Actually, he was a swordmaker, one in a long line of smiths who forged the legendary weapons known as Damascus sabers. They were strong yet flexible and supremely sharp, which European warriors first discovered, much to their misfortune, at the hands of Muslims during the Crusades.

The recipe for making Damascus steel was lost at the end of the 18th century, so no one knew the reasons for its remarkable qualities. But an analysis by 21st-century researchers in Germany provides a clue: Damascus sabers, they report in Nature, contain carbon nanotubes.

[arnisador]

Swordsmiths' deep secret: nanotech (http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1207/p17s01-cogn.html)

Through trial and error, ancient craftsmen used nanoparticles to strengthen steel. (http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1207/p17s01-cogn.html)

[arnisador]

A 26 Sept. 2003 Wall Street Journal article stated that the 15-inch survival knife used by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando had sold at auction two weeks previously for $2938 among growing interest in the Governor's memorabilia. A picture of the knife appeared in the article. The sword used in as Conan is in the Smithsonian and not available despite wide interest in it, apparently.

[arnisador]

BRITISH MUSEUM PURCHASES EXCEPTIONAL ANGLO-SAXON SWORD HILT (http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART42519.html)


The British Museum has acquired a set of decorative Anglo-Saxon sword hilt fittings that provide valuable clues about trade and workmanship in medieval times.



Discovered by a metal detectorist in 2002 near Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, the high quality fittings are the first of their kind to come from Anglo-Saxon England, being dated to between 600-650.

[arnisador]

Ruins in Northern Syria Bear the Scars of a City’s Final Battle

(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/science/16batt.html?_r=1&oref=slogin)


The excavations at the city, Tell Hamoukar, which was destroyed in about 3500 B.C., have also exposed remains suggesting its origins as a manufacturing center for obsidian tools and blades, perhaps as early as 4500 B.C

[arnisador]

Napoleon's sword makes £3m (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/11/wsword111.xml)


Napoleon's sword sells (http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/world/napoleons-sword-sells/2007/06/11/1181414196647.html)



A gold-encrusted sword Napoleon wore into battle in Italy has sold for more than €4.8 million ($7.6 million) at an auction south of Paris.


The last of Napoleon's swords in private hands, it had been expected to fetch more than €1.2 million, the Osenat auction house said.


The auction house did not identify the buyer, but said a well-heeled woman bought the sword for her husband, calling it a "very nice Father's Day gift" - and that she wanted to remain anonymous.

[arnisador]

Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's sword draws high bid of $1.6 million at auction (http://www.komotv.com/news/national/8165297.html)



A diamond-adorned sword once owned by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant brought a winning bid of more than $1.6 million in an auction of Civil War items.

The sword given to Grant, who later became the 18th president, was one of the marquee items among the 750 to be auctioned Sunday and Monday by Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas.

[...]

The priciest item was Grant's sword, which went for $1,673,000 to an unnamed bidder. It was presented by citizens of Kentucky in 1864 to honor Grant's promotion to General-in-Chief of all Union forces.

The silver and gold sword contains a 28-diamond monogram and is covered with intricate designs, including engraved battle scenes on its 33-inch blade.

Gary Hendershott, Heritage's director of Civil War auctions, described the sword as maybe the finest from the Civil War period.

"It's really a hallmark of American silversmith craftsmanship."

At this link (http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation_world/8161977.html) there's a picture of a Civil War era "Texas-made .36 caliber George Todd Confederate revolver, and a pair of sterling silver Tiffany Civil War-era spurs" that were auctioned off as well.

[arnisador]

A PICTURE HISTORY OF CRAWFORD KNIVES (http://www.crawfordknives.com/HISTORY%20PAGE%201.htm)

Pictures of some of their older knives and swords.

[arnisador]

To Understand
Sheiks in Iraq,
Marines Ask 'Mac' (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118938557263322137.html?mod=googlenews_wsj)



Earlier this summer, William "Mac" McCallister's Marine Corps bosses asked him for help selecting gifts for tribal sheiks who had teamed up with U.S. forces to fight radical Islamists.

Mr. McCallister, the Marines' resident expert on tribal culture, settled on the perfect gift: a Mameluke sword. The swords, which all Marine officers carry, date back to 1804 when a Marine lieutenant led a group of Arabs in a successful attack on pirates and was awarded a sword by an Ottoman pasha.

There was only one problem: The swords were banned as gifts because their value exceeds the government limit of $305.

So Mr. McCallister launched an impassioned campaign to obtain a waiver. Sheiks, who see themselves as products of a warrior culture, would love the swords, he insisted in an email to his bosses. Every time the sheik carried one, it would remind his constituents of their special "warrior bond" with the Corps, he wrote.

Expertise in 1,000-year-old tribal customs has given Mr. McCallister a position of some importance in the U.S. effort to pacify Iraq. The 46-year-old retired Army major has spent the past four years in Iraq studying the tribes' myths, histories and ancient legal system. Although he's completely self-taught, his ideas have helped shape the Marine Corps' strategy in western Iraq, which calls for forging alliances with tribal sheiks to drive out radical Islamist fighters.

[StixMaster]

To Understand (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118938557263322137.html?mod=googlenews_wsj)
Sheiks in Iraq,
Marines Ask 'Mac' (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118938557263322137.html?mod=googlenews_wsj)
Good to see that he's got the right 'chi' for this. Those are gestures that will help endear Americans to many of the tribes. There is the real Army of Iraq, ie 'DUNE' by Herbert. Every martial artist should learn history and culture about the art they are learning since you're giving part of your life to its principles and concepts. Real cool, Mahalo

[arnisador]

Faith, Proof and Relics
This week's disclosure on the missing history of the Shroud of Turin sheds new light on a much studied object. Peter Manseau on the enduring appeal of holy objects. (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123940218130209621.html)

This article is mostly about the Shorud of Turin, but includes a picture of the Holy Lance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Lance):


Spear of Destiny: Also known as the Holy Lance, it is said to be the Roman soldier's lance that pierced Jesus' side at his crucifixion. Several relics have claimed to be all or part of the genuine object, including this one now located in Vienna.

[arnisador]

Armor as Wearable Sculpture (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204271104574292583516461404.html)

At the National Gallery of Art, lavish gear fit for kings (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204271104574292583516461404.html)


The Royal Armory in *Madrid, created by the Spanish branch of the Hapsburg *dynasty, is among the oldest and most splendid collections of its kind—a hoard of suits of armor, helmets, shields and equestrian armor once worn by Spanish kings, Holy Roman *emperors and their horses.

[arnisador]

Huge hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure uncovered in UK (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090924/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_anglo_saxon_gold)



The treasure trove includes intricately designed helmet crests embossed with a frieze of running animals, enamel-studded sword fittings and a checkerboard piece inlaid with garnets and gold.

There's a slideshow with pictures of the sword hilts etc.

[arnisador]

Lincoln exhibition will open today (http://www.indystar.com/article/20100212/NEWS/2120380/1001/NEWS)



Artifact: Dale Ogden, the museum's chief curator of cultural history, holds a pocketknife that was carried by President Abraham Lincoln.