The "EXPLAIN YOUR AVATAR" Thread!

[Atlantia]

Just a bit of fun, I've seen some pretty sweet items pictured in peoples avatars, and some fun things too!
So here's todays fun thread!
Tell everyone about what you've chosen, insert a big picture, tell us the story of your avatar picture!

Cheers
Gene

Edit: Hope I'm not missusing the forums with these threads?

[kronckew]

my avatar here is simple, it's my favourite pedang grip

[Lew]

A keris from my collection.

Lew

[CourseEight]

From the past:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3992&highlight=avatar

That thread is over a year old though, many people have changed theirs, and I never contributed, so...

Mine is the makara from the guard of my first really nice piece (and the first one I posted here), this kastane (http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=4514&highlight=kastane).

--Radleigh

[David]

Easy, i took the keris avatar from the ones provided. I have tried to change this on a number of occasions and i'm always told that the pic is too big....no matter how small i seem to make it. I don't know why this is. :(

[Rick]

Easy, i took the keris avatar from the ones provided. I have tried to change this on a number of occasions and i'm always told that the pic is too big....no matter how small i seem to make it. I don't know why this is. :(

This size ? :)

100X100 limit 19.5K

My avatar ?
Semar,complete with gas rising behind him . :D

[Atlantia]

Since the avatar pictures are so small, how about sharing big close-ups peeps?

[Rick]

I tossed the large image I shopped or rather Irfanviewed into the avatar, sorry .

A Wiki search would tell you a bit about him . :)
A G.I.S. would give you some other images .

[David]

Since the avatar pictures are so small, how about sharing big close-ups peeps?
That's not a bad idea... :)

[Rick]

This is your's David .
No, not the keris ... :rolleyes: :D

[Lew]

Here is mine.

[kronckew]

Since the avatar pictures are so small, how about sharing big close-ups peeps?

pics in front of my garage door:
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s231/kronckew/Pedang/DSCF0005_DCE.jpg
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s231/kronckew/Pedang/pedfull-1.jpg
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s231/kronckew/Pedang/DSCF0006_DCE.jpg

[David]

This is your's David .
No, not the keris ... :rolleyes: :D
hmmm....what your saying then is that the keris isn't mine, but the hilt is....Thanks buddy. You know the address, just mail it out anytime...
;) :D

[Atlantia]

Sweet! Excellent choices.

Mine is the one remaining Indian bronze statue I have from a former collection. I couldn't bear to part with my big copper 'hamsa Bird'

He's about 18cm tall. I particularly like his 'Shivas Trishul' tail.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c59/Battlestar_Atlantia/014-1.jpg

[Runjeet Singh]

Mine is one of various custom made Logos made for my site when it was launched a few years back. Very talented guys at www.macrojuice.com.
Here is a another....

Runjeet

[Mark]

Mine is a panel from the silver scabbard of one of my favorite dha.
http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/74_full_22.jpg
http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/Images/Image331.jpg

He is a bilu, usually translated as "ogre," but in Burmese mythology they are not the Shrek-like creatures that live under bridges as in the West (wait, thats a troll ... :shrug: ), but rather a sentient species like humans, just rarer, and more magical-mystical. The scabbard has both a male and a female bilu, though only a female bilu figures in the story on the blade, which is the [/url=http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/Perspective/persp2003/4-2003/leg.htm]"Bedaya" jataka[/url].

This is Mrs. Bilu, AKA Sandamuhki:
http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/Images/Image337.jpg

More details on the dha here (http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/Images/Image337.jpg).

Great idea for a thread, by the way. :)

[Bill M]

Mine is from my favorite kris.

[Alam Shah]

Mine is from my favorite Bugis keris hilt. :)

[Lew]

Mine is from my favorite Bugis keris hilt. :)

Alam Shah

Funny it's my favorite one to. :D ;) Always wondered what was on the other end of that hilt ;) :)



Lew

[Montino Bourbon]

Blue dorje on a red lotus, surrounded by 'energy'.

I think it's getting a bit old. Time for a new one, and I have one in mind. Soon...

[Marcokeris]

An old classic jawa naga made by wood (50 cm high)

[Freddy]

My avatar is an old Wayang Golek puppet. I had to restore the clothing (it was worn). I have a small collection of these puppets (mainly monsters and clowns), but I especially like this one because it wears a keris.

And no.....it doesn't resemble me :p

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/keris_hanuman/Afbeelding020.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/keris_hanuman/Afbeelding021.jpg

[Dajak]

It is from my favorit pakayun .



Ben

[Luc LEFEBVRE]

http://lulef.free.fr/assets/images/db_images/db_Couperets-Lobala02-__Custom_1.jpg

Ngbaka, Bondjo - Congo execution knife -

Luc

[Maurice]

Mine is a Rugi hilt from Alor.

1 complete pic attached and two pics from old postcards from Alor headhunters/warriors!

[katana]

Mine is a character from one of the many 'Benin Bronzes', from the Dahomey society famed for their art and the bravery of their warriors.

Amongst the male warriors there were 'crack elite' women (often referrred to as the Amazons)..whom were considered more ruthless than the men :eek:

[Atlantia]

Mine is a character from one of the many 'Benin Bronzes', from the Dahomey society famed for their art and the bravery of their warriors.

Amongst the male warriors there were 'crack elite' women (often referrred to as the Amazons)..whom were considered more ruthless than the men :eek:

Are you sure you're not talking about Portsmouth? It sure sounds like Pompey Girls?

Very Nice Bronze BTW Katana! I was wondering if you'd see this thread and tell us about it.
Did you pick it up in Kent?

[Atlantia]

http://lulef.free.fr/assets/images/db_images/db_Couperets-Lobala02-__Custom_1.jpg

Ngbaka, Bondjo - Congo execution knife -

Luc

These are absolutely spine tingling items! God only knows what the execution technique is with such a bizzare knife, throat slitting I guess?
I bet they work as a deterant!!! :eek:

[Atlantia]

My avatar is an old Wayang Golek puppet. I had to restore the clothing (it was worn). I have a small collection of these puppets (mainly monsters and clowns), but I especially like this one because it wears a keris.

And no.....it doesn't resemble me :p

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/keris_hanuman/Afbeelding020.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v158/keris_hanuman/Afbeelding021.jpg

What a great little chap he is!! Love his happy face and handlebar moustache!

[Atlantia]

An old classic jawa naga made by wood (50 cm high)

I love mythical beasts! Can you tell me more about this carving? Would it have been part of a complete statue or mounted on something? Its beautiful work!

[Atlantia]

Mine is a panel from the silver scabbard of one of my favorite dha.
http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/74_full_22.jpg
http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/Images/Image331.jpg

He is a bilu, usually translated as "ogre," but in Burmese mythology they are not the Shrek-like creatures that live under bridges as in the West (wait, thats a troll ... :shrug: ), but rather a sentient species like humans, just rarer, and more magical-mystical. The scabbard has both a male and a female bilu, though only a female bilu figures in the story on the blade, which is the [/url=http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/Perspective/persp2003/4-2003/leg.htm]"Bedaya" jataka[/url].

This is Mrs. Bilu, AKA Sandamuhki:
http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/Images/Image337.jpg

More details on the dha here (http://dharesearch.bowditch.us/Images/Image337.jpg).

Great idea for a thread, by the way. :)

That has to be the finest Dha I've ever seen! You must have had to sell a kidney to get that!
It is truly stunning, if there was a smilie 'taking its hat off' I'd be inserting it here: " ".

[katana]

Are you sure you're not talking about Portsmouth? It sure sounds like Pompey Girls?

Very Nice Bronze BTW Katana! I was wondering if you'd see this thread and tell us about it.
Did you pick it up in Kent?

Hi Atlantia,
sadly the bronze is not mine....unless the British Museum will 'donate' it to me ;)
So,do you 'hail' from Pompey.....makes sense with a user name like Atlantia, my father is ex Royal Navy and was often down there ....never 'complained' about the local girls though ;)

Regards David

[Atlantia]

Hi Atlantia,
sadly the bronze is not mine....unless the British Museum will 'donate' it to me ;)
So,do you 'hail' from Pompey.....makes sense with a user name like Atlantia, my father is ex Royal Navy and was often down there ....never 'complained' about the local girls though ;)

Regards David

Thats so weird, My father was RN too!
My mum's from Kent and they met at Pompey when she was a wren!

I worked in Pompey for a while as a nightclub promotions manager. The place is like the wild west. The girls fight with ash-trays, high heels and/or bar stools!!!!!!

I'm in devon now, much quieter.

Strangely, my folks remember Pompey as a really nice place in the 50s!!!!

BTW, I'll PM the BM and ask them to send the bronzes over for you ;-)
Along with their indo-persian collection for me.

Gene

[Mick]

You all have seen mine earlier:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=268&highlight=Mick

[Atlantia]

You all have seen mine earlier:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=268&highlight=Mick

Wow, he's a fine little fella! Looks liek you'd have to raid the BM to find a blade worthy of such a handle.

[Marcokeris]

I love mythical beasts! Can you tell me more about this carving? Would it have been part of a complete statue or mounted on something? Its beautiful work!
I found this carving some years ago in Yogya. Maybe it's a part of some musical instrument (gamelan) ...or a part of a ceremonial carriage... i don't know :confused: and the seller didn't help me when i asked about the carving :shrug:

[Rick]

It's absolutely beautiful Marco .
I am guilty of the sin of coveting my neighbor's goods . ;) :D

[Atlantia]

http://lulef.free.fr/assets/images/db_images/db_Couperets-Lobala02-__Custom_1.jpg

Ngbaka, Bondjo - Congo execution knife -

Luc

Thats a bizzare thing. My girlfriend thinks it looks like a bottle opener! lol.
I think its actually quite amazing. Is it sword sized?

[Atlantia]

It's absolutely beautiful Marco .
I am guilty of the sin of coveting my neighbor's goods . ;) :D

Me too mate!

[brekele]

I found this carving some years ago in Yogya. Maybe it's a part of some musical instrument (gamelan) ...or a part of a ceremonial carriage... i don't know :confused: and the seller didn't help me when i asked about the carving :shrug:



Marco, Probebly your naga (avatar) is part of javanese Gong's holder.

[Luc LEFEBVRE]

These are absolutely spine tingling items! God only knows what the execution technique is with such a bizzare knife, throat slitting I guess?
I bet they work as a deterant!!! :eek:

http://lulef.free.fr/assets/images/decapitation-3.jpg

http://lulef.free.fr/html/ngbaka.html

50cm to 60cm

;)

Luc

[kahnjar1]

Great thread !!! It is often difficult to see what the various Avatars are, or if they are only a bit of the item, what the whole looks like!
Mine is an Omani Khanjar from around the 1960s. Due to a typo my calling card is not spelt correctly, but as it is also used elsewhere, I have decided to leave it as is.
Regards Stuart

[Yannis]

Mine it is just a khevsur shield. A long story of love, fate and... fakes :rolleyes:
(not this one)

[Atlantia]

................ A long story of love, fate and... fakes :rolleyes:
(not this one)

Sounds like a Greek tragedy! ;-)

I'd like to hear it :D

[Jim McDougall]

Explain my avatar! ?
Oh!....where do I begin?
It represents the mysteries of the sword.....the secrets of Damascus, is it a shamshir? or do we call it sa'if?
Is the blade of the steel we call 'Damascened'? or wootz? does the word mean it was forged there, or is the blade from elsewhere? Could it be the majjir blade favored by the Bedouin, and were these hilts distinctly made in Syria fashioned from earlier ones from Hungary?
If it had a Hungarian blade, why was it called kurda? was it from the Caucasian gurda?
After Tamerlane left with all the makers to Samarkand, did they still forge blades in Damascus? or did it become a huge trade center for mounting the blades from other centers?
It is all about 'why?'

Or is it? Maybe it was just a bit of available clip art! :)

[Dom]

Just a bit of fun, ..snip .. what you've chosen, insert a big picture, tell us the story of your avatar picture!
A day, long time ago my attention has been drawn on an helmet persian style,
I was too young to have my own money,
the helmet was quiet well expensive,
and my parents shoot me, …. big deception

but fortunately, because that helmet was a copy Napoleon III
(Indian copies 45 years ago wasn’t arrived yet on the market ….. LOL)

since, my dream was always present, and never reached
less than 10 years ago, I bought from an auction of collection Rambert-Rat
a real Persian Khadjar « KULAH-KHUD » XVIIIe

it’s my more precious item, not in value, but in feeling

à +

Dom

[Yannis]

Sounds like a Greek tragedy! ;-)

I'd like to hear it :D

It is a long story. In brief:

This shield comes from Tbilisi in 1995 (here there is love, no details ;) ). Then for 9 years I was looking desperate for a khevsur sword. It was impossible. Suddenly I found a source in Athens (fate :rolleyes: ) . Me and a friend of mine we bought 8 (!) swords. Half of them were fakes :mad:
We lost lot money and pride. But we got some valuable lessons and we still have 2 very good swords.

[Atlantia]

It is a long story. In brief:

This shield comes from Tbilisi in 1995 (here there is love, no details ;) ). Then for 9 years I was looking desperate for a khevsur sword. It was impossible. Suddenly I found a source in Athens (fate :rolleyes: ) . Me and a friend of mine we bought 8 (!) swords. Half of them were fakes :mad:
We lost lot money and pride. But we got some valuable lessons and we still have 2 very good swords.

At least you got two swords (one each?)
Sometimes the nicest things to own are the most trouble to get.

How about a big picture of the shield?

[Atlantia]

A day, long time ago my attention has been drawn on an helmet persian style,
I was too young to have my own money,
the helmet was quiet well expensive,
and my parents shoot me, …. big deception

but fortunately, because that helmet was a copy Napoleon III
(Indian copies 45 years ago wasn’t arrived yet on the market ….. LOL)

since, my dream was always present, and never reached
less than 10 years ago, I bought from an auction of collection Rambert-Rat
a real Persian Khadjar « KULAH-KHUD » XVIIIe

it’s my more precious item, not in value, but in feeling

à +

Dom

Lovely display Dom,
Thanks for sharing. I am very envious ;-) (in a nice way)

The peacock feathers are just right! I have similar ones in a helmet of mine.
Is the chainmail butted or rivetted?

[Alam Shah]

Alam Shah

Funny it's my favorite one to. :D ;) Always wondered what was on the other end of that hilt ;) :)

LewI guess we have the same good taste. ;) :D Now you know... a simple "no nonsense" keris blade.

[Dom]

Is the chainmail butted or rivetted?
the chainmail is riveted
and very difficult to fix the damaged parts :o

à +

Dom

[Atlantia]

the chainmail is riveted
and very difficult to fix the damaged parts :o

à +

Dom


You read my mind Dom.
The first row around the bottom would provide the donor links to repair the holes, but you need a very steady hand to open the links and keep the pins.
And a very fine heat source like a jewellers blowtorch.
A jeweller could do it for you? You wouldn't lose any significant length on the chainmail from donating the last row?

Its a lovely helmet, is the caligraphy chiselled/hand-cut or etched?
I suppose like many, I am an admirer of arabic caligraphy (Although I understand none of it)
Have you translated the panels on your helmet?

Regards
Gene

[Yannis]

How about a big picture of the shield?


IMHO it is the best of what I have seen. Dry leather lining. I have show it to the forum lot of years (5-8?) ago.

[Yannis]

IMHO it is the best of what I have seen. Dry leather lining. I have show it to the forum lot of years (5-8?) ago.

best = of khevsur.
leather = goat (?) hide

Sometimes I write fast. Sorry. :)

[Dom]

Its a lovely helmet, is the caligraphy chiselled/hand-cut or etched?
...snip...
Have you translated the panels on your helmet?
Hi Gene
the caligraphy is chiselled/hand-cut *(what seems to me, at least ...)
framed by gold line
* correction .. at least .. I dunno :shrug:
no way for the cartouche translation :o
- the alphabet used, it's well arabic
- the language used, it's not arabic .... according with my sweet translator :p
- she thing about "farsi", what could be logic, this helmet being persian ;)

à +

Dom

[Andrew]

Thai temple guardian here. No larger pic available... :shrug:

[olikara]

My avatar shows the pommel of a Sword hilt in my collection. It is a brass hilt with a taiger pommel with the typical bubris markings all over.

Unfortunately the hilt came with the blade missing. The hilt has the design characteristics of the 1796 LC British pattern. But again it has the decorative characterisics and the metal made in the style of the hilts of Tipu Sultan (of Mysore's) times.

Whether it belonged to someone in Tipu Sultan's army or to a British officer who got the hilt cast to commemorate his personal truimph over Tipu at Seringapatam on May 4, 1799 is maybe a mystery that I will take with me to the grave.

Nidhi

[Battara]

My avatar is a Maguindanao kris hilt made of ivory, silver woven bands, and okir swaasa. I got it on ebay with a horrible WWII blade. I now have now matched it with a 19th c blade that I will post later. So far my favorite kris hilt that I have.... :D