What's your Avatar?

[Andrew]

Just for fun, let's describe our Avatars.

Mine is a Thai temple guardian. :cool: Mark had used this one originally, and I coveted it. When he changed, I grabbed it. :)

[Berkley]

Large Nineteenth Century Nepalese kukri with two forged fullers (dui chirra). One of my all-time favorites :) .

[Rick]

Semar, the clown from the Wayang .
He acts the fool but is wise and powerful . :D

[Dajak]

Mine the Hilt off an very rare pakayun

[Emanuel]

I love the look of that khukri Berkley...Himalayan Imports have a replica model don't they?

My avatar is a nice Sudanese arm dagger, one of my new favourite blades. :D

[katana]

Mine, is one of the Warriors from a 'Benin bronze'.....decorative and symbollic bronze plaques that were attached to the walls of the King's Palace. A facinating culture.....often overlooked.

This particular 'individual' stood out ......a character I could relate to :)

.....And no I do not have a dis-proportional sized head :D :rolleyes: :p

[Flavio]

Mine is a statuette from the tribe of congo. My ex-girlfriend told me that in his expression she sometimes saw my expression :o

[HUSAR]

Mine is a shoulder-part of winged horseman armor :)

[Freddy]

Mine is an old Wayang golek puppet with a moustache. I especially like it because it also wears a keris in its belt.

[Mark]

A Burmese "bilu" (ogre), from a dha scabbard. The decoration on the sword itself shows the story of Princess Bedayi, or Bedi, in which an ogress named Sandamukhi figures, but there doesn't seem to be an ogre in the story, so I'm not sure why he's on the scabbard. There is an ogress at the same position on the opposite side of the scabbard, at any rate.

[Tim Simmons]

Mine is an image taken off a shell cameo from the Austral Islands. This back to back figure adorns many artifacts from the Islands which are among the most isolated and only really visited by whalers in the 19th century. I can find many other examples but nothing about what they actually are. Some others to look at.

[VVV]

Mine is a handle of a klewang from Palembang, Sumatra (see van Z pict 263).
I think it resembles a cock's comb which I found appropriate because some of my friends sometimes find me cocky.

Michael

[ShayanMirza]

Mine is the sword of my great great great great great grandfather.

[Bill M]

Supposed to be a Tibetan monk shoulder or leg ball joint, carved.

Not perfectly sure it is Tibetan, but it is human. The doctor who replaced my knee and my chiropracter both agree on this. :D

[Rick]

I got to tell you Bill; that baby gives me the willies for some reason. :eek: :D

[jmings]

Mine is a cheap Indian Tulwar. <hangs head in embassassment> :o

[Bill M]

I got to tell you Bill; that baby gives me the willies for some reason. :eek: :D

Reminds me of a quote, "He is a shiver looking for a spine to run up."

The Tibetans used a lot of human bones. They wanted to uinderscore the tramsient nature of life. You often find masks with five skulls across the top, like points on a crown. This signnifies the deaths of the five senses.

The Tibetans used to make me nervous. Now I get more "willies" from the Aghora.

But perhaps we should not digress for fear of the thread bing hijacked into extraneous topics. I am interested in the other avatars. I am enjoying knowing more about the people here!

[RSWORD]

Mine is a grouping of shamshir intended to illustrate the difference in blade curvature between earlier examples(top two blades are probably 17th century) and later examples(middle blade is 18th century and bottom two are 19th century).

[Jeff D]

A primordial wootz rose.

Jeff

[Andrew]

Mine is the sword of my great great great great great grandfather.


Time to start a thread about that one! :cool:

[Emanuel]

Time to start a thread about that one! :cool:
I second that!! 7 generations, must have some good storytellin'.

[Joe]

Mine is the shichishito, the famous seven-pronged sword forged in Korea (or possibly China) in the 4th century, and sent as a gift to Japan.

[ShayanMirza]

Whoops! I went one "great" too many. Just great x 4 grandfather. :shrug:

[Alam Shah]

Mine, a Bugis keris hilt, (in the 'kerdas' form). Made from ivory with carved floral and vegitative motifs. The brass ferrule (pendokok) is a 2-piece construction.

This hilt is also known as a Garuda hilt form. Garuda is the king of the birds and the mount of Vishnu. He is the enemy of the serpents and is associated with the all-consuming sun's rays, he symbolizes protection.

It has and 'endless knot' symbol and a ' garuda mungkur' on the back. On its chest, there is "Allah' carved in arabic.

[ More pictures here (http://www.kampungnet.com.sg/modules.php?set_albumName=albuq91&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_album.php) ]

Within this single hilt, there are a few symbols derived from animism, hinduism, buddhism and islamic influences. Hmmm...

[wolviex]

Mine is a fine example of Polish hussars sabre, in most classical form and shape, made at the end of 17th century by Lviv (Lvov) Ormians. I had a thread devoted to this sabre many months ago, but just to remind you this beautiful sabre, I put one picture below.

[B.I]

The top section of a dagger hilt, Nayaka period, South Indian (around 1600)

[Marc]

Mine's the hilt of a 17th c. Spanish cup-hilt rapier, formerly in the (late) Army Museum in Madrid. Filed and chiselled steel. A truly fine exemplar of its kind.

[Jens Nordlunde]

Mine is the hilt of a knife. But which kind of knife? A Khanjarli of course!

[VANDOO]

I DID WONDER ABOUT SOME OF THE AVATARS SO THE POST IS INTERESTING AND ELINGHTENING.

BUT ALAS! I HAVE NO AVATAR "AVATARS FOR THE POOR"!! :D

[Rick]

Barry, if you have a picture you want to use; email it to me and I'll resize it and post it for you .

Rick

[Yannis]

It is a Khevsur shield. It is the reason for the hunting of Khevsur arms and the great lesson I got with the fakes. At least this is old and real. I got it years ago, before the factory of imitation appears.

[Bill M]

I DID WONDER ABOUT SOME OF THE AVATARS SO THE POST IS INTERESTING AND ELINGHTENING.

BUT ALAS! I HAVE NO AVATAR "AVATARS FOR THE POOR"!! :D

<Echoing Rick> what would you like? What would you think could represent you?

[kronckew]

Mine is the hilt of my laminated steel pedang marked '1894' (or 1814?)

original: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gladius/pedang.jpg

full view http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gladius/pedfull.jpg

date http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gladius/peddate.jpg

serial? http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/gladius/pedno.jpg

[Mark]

<Echoing Rick> what would you like? What would you think could represent you?

I'm thinking Pacific Island wooden sword/club. :)

[Dajak]

The problem with Barry is his collection is so big he can't choose :D :D :D



Ben

[Luc LEFEBVRE]

A Ngbaka execution knife from CONGO
Type: Bango ou Bwagogambanza
50cm

Luc

[VANDOO]

I THINK BEN NAILED IT I HAVE A VERY HARD TIME CHOOSING, BUT THIS THREAD HAS GOT ME TO THINKING AND LOOKING AGAIN. THANKS FOR THE OFFER RICK I WILL SEE IF I CAN FIND SOMETHING TO SEND TO YOU FOR RESIZING IN THE NEAR FUTURE. :D
A GOOD OLD SOUTH PACIFIC CLUB IS A GOOD IDEA, MY FAVORITE IS A MAORI JADE CLUB BUT IT DON'T LOOK LIKE MUCH IN A PHOTO.

[Rick]

I THINK BEN NAILED IT I HAVE A VERY HARD TIME CHOOSING, BUT THIS THREAD HAS GOT ME TO THINKING AND LOOKING AGAIN. THANKS FOR THE OFFER RICK I WILL SEE IF I CAN FIND SOMETHING TO SEND TO YOU FOR RESIZING IN THE NEAR FUTURE. :D
A GOOD OLD SOUTH PACIFIC CLUB IS A GOOD IDEA, MY FAVORITE IS A MAORI JADE CLUB BUT IT DON'T LOOK LIKE MUCH IN A PHOTO.

Give it a try Barry; I can always try to augment and improve it with a little 'manipulation'. :D

You've got my email address, correct ?

[Battara]

My avatar is a Maguindanao kris with a 1920s-30s blade, but the hilt is 1890s made of ivory, woven silver bands, and chased okir swaasa bands. I made the scabbard to match (chased okir silver and small swaasa bands). It was the second scabbard I ever made. Here are some pictures.

Enjoy - Jose:D

[katana]

Battara,
I'm not well versed in SEA weapons ...but that is a beauty :)

[roanoa]

Mine is a classic example of a XIX century Abyssinian shield made of heavy leather (hippo?) decorated in silver.

[BluErf]

Haven't been to the mainboard for a while. :)

My avatar is a middle period tajong from Pattani/Kelantan, characterised by relative small size, modest crown and simpler carvings. The hilt has an old add-on janggut, which would suggest that this was an early form without janggut. Probably from a time when the tajong and coteng was still largely similar.

The hilt has an extensively-repaired buah pinang, which was sheared off diagonally a long long time ago. One of the shoulder also had material loss, and was patched. It's really one old survivor. Swasa accent added by me, to restore it back to glory. :)

[Valjhun]

Hi!

Mine is one of the most intimidating weapons I had ever see (and own :D )

[Battara]

Swasa accent added by me, to restore it back to glory. :)
I have always loved your avatar. YOU MAKE SWAASA? :eek: Not as easy as one would think. I think my friend and I were the first to have made swaasa in the Western Hemisphere. You did a nice job.

Thank you Katana. IT was an ebay purchase, believe it or not, years ago and with bad pictures and I was the only one bidding on it. :D

[asomotif]

Look what you can find strawling through the forum :)

My avatar is a hardwood statue depicting an "aso", the Borneo dog / dragon motif. hence : asomotif.

check out this website :
http://www.mytribalworld.com/dog%20motive%20art%20mtw.pdf

[Battara]

I have always found the aso fascinating.

Yours is the most complete aso form I have seen, well, outside of a mandau that I once owned and sold (now wish I hadn't - great asos on it :( ).

[T. Koch]

Cool thread - a lot of wondering and admiring has been answered in this thread. :)

Great find Willem! - Mine will fit right in after yours: It's the crown motive of a carved Dayak trophy, showing tendrils shooting out from a center circle surrounded by a shape resembling a butterfly. Two polished shell-discs of the highly venomous cone snail, Conus sp. have been inserted and attached with damar. The quality of carving as well as a stunning old patina, makes it one of my most favorite pieces.


I also think it is time for some of our old members to update their avatar descriptions. Bill M., I'm no expert on these, so it might be Tibetan but it is definitely not human - at all! :p :D


Cheers, - Thor

[kahnjar1]

No guessing here.....a nice Omani Khanjar with gold and silver thread work and a nice studded horn hilt.
Stu

[Atlantia]

I've taken to changing mine every few weeks.
They usually reflect my great love of metalwork or I occasionally use the hanger pod from the Battlestar Atlantia.
This one is a koftgari box to the 22nd Sam Browne's Cavalry.

[Atlantia]

Reading back through makes you wonder what happened to some old regulars...

We had a part 2 here:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6640

[Berkley]

I also think it is time for some of our old members to update their avatar descriptions.
Mine is now the goddess Durga seated on a lion, a closeup from the silver-mounted scabbard of a Nepalese kothimora kukri.

[trenchwarfare]

Mine is a select grouping from the WWI collection. US Model 1911, Mk1 Grenade, and 1918 Mk1 Trench Knife. German Model P08 Luger, Stahlgrenate, and Trench knife. Lastly, a set of US mfg steel knuckles, and British Mills Bomb.

[David R]

My avatar is a reduced detail from a photo of me in armour, taken at the Fête des Remparts de Dinan a few years ago. I dunno if it might be considered a bit of vanity or a disdain for anonymity or what, I am just in the habit of using pics of myself as avatars on the different sites or forums I belong to. I post a couple of other pics, one the original the avatar is cut from, the other taken at Blore Heath some years ago.

[DaveA]

No, this is not an "aerobe" flying toy.

My avatar is a 19th C. "Chakkar Sada" from India, a type of Chakrum also known as a Chakra, Chakar, and Quoit. This was the weapon of choice for Sikhs for hundreds of years. The ring is beveled to generate aerodynamic lift. It is radial patterned welded steel and very sharp on the outside edge. With a range of 40 to 50 meters, it is utter silent when thrown properly.

Just like the Aerobie, Frisbee, and similar toys, there are many ways to throw it — but unlike them, no way to safely catch it!

The Nihang, an armed Sikh order, were masters of this weapon and would hurl volleys of these (as with Shuriken) at the enemy in much the same role of artillery. It is also useful in melee, worn around the arm or wrist or held.

Chakrams are rarely found today. After the Sikh wars and after the mutiny of 1857, in the general disarmament that took place many old weapons were destroyed and sold as metal.

[DaveA]

Hi!

Mine is one of the most intimidating weapons I had ever see (and own :D )

Wow, fantastic! I have a special liking for the split blades. This one is a beauty.

[Iain]

Mine's just a brass hilted takouba. :)

[DAHenkel]

Nik Rashidin Nik Hussein was a master hilt carver from Kelantan who I’ve mentioned before on this forum and who for many years was my friend and mentor. Unfortunately we lost him far too early, at the age of 46, due to multiple myeloma. However some months before he left us, despite ill health, we managed to travel to Pattani together to visit friends and see some of the best extant pieces in collections there. During a visit to a well known dealer in Narathiwat I dug out a badly abused but highly unusual keris with a very rare, almost unique sheath. It was missing its buntut and its hilt had severely split due to long neglect. Abang Din however loved the piece and insisted that I buy it, poor condition notwithstanding. Which I did, and once back in Kota Bahru duly handed it over to his brother Nik Rashidee to restore.

Months later Abang Din passed on and not long after I returned to Kelantan to pay my respects to the family. Although still grieving, Nik Dee still remembered to do the restoration work on my keris. However we had a small problem in that we did not have a hilt that suited the piece. And so, on an afternoon, sitting in Abang Dee's shop I spotted a loose hilt and sheath in the bottom of a case. Without much thought, I picked it up and plonked it on the aforementioned keris, showing it to Rashidee when he came back into the room.

I will never forget the look on his face..."David," he said, "Arwah Abang has been busy settling all sorts of unfinished business since his passing...people who had things of his have returned them, debts long forgotten have suddenly been settled...that hilt was carved for another keris but Arwah wasn't satisfied with the way it looked with the blade and sheath and asked me to return the blade to him some months before his passing. But that hilt, it fits your keris perfectly." And so it has remained with the keris and this is the keris which is my avatar. My final gift from my Guru...who now rests peacefully till the end of days.

[chregu]

Hi
my avatar is a copy of the Swiss dagger (ca 1570), which was prepared for the 700th anniversary of Confederation. birth day gift from my wife for my 25 birthday. it hangs on the wall in the living room.
chregu

[Battara]

It is a gorgeous piece, thank you for sharing.

[Luc LEFEBVRE]

This is a Lobala Mondzombo execution knife called Bango. 50cm.
From Congo.

[Sajen]

My avatar is a keris handle from Madura, a so called janggelan hilt. Frankly said I don't know the material. This handle have a great patina.

[Albert]

My avatar is the logo of my second hobby: writing about Indonesian weapons and publishing.

[Andi]

I guess the original is known to you.

The Sky Disc is one of the most important archaeological finds of the past century. The disk is attributed to a site near Nebra, Saxony-Anhalt in Germany, and associatively dated to c. 1600 BC. It has been associated with the Bronze Age Unetice culture. It displays the world's oldest known concrete depiction of astronomical phenomena. Its significance is reflected by its inclusion into the UNESCO's Memory of the World register in June 2013.

More infos available here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebra_sky_disk

[kahnjar1]

No guessing here.....a nice Omani Khanjar with gold and silver thread work and a nice studded horn hilt.
Stu
Since changed to a nice signed Middle Eastern Dullah (Coffee Pot)

[Gavin Nugent]

Ghost Rider...burn it up baby!!!

Thank Gene.

[Queequeg]

My avatar is, indeed, Queequeg.

[JamesKelly]

And mine is the Makara, an auspicious little beast. It is on the hilt of an Indian kard I just got, with a wootz blade forged to display a Mohamed's Ladder/Kirk Narduban pattern.