Hi Stekemest,
You're absolutely right, I'd rather keep those unfortunate elements of public interaction out of what was (and still is) a very nicely coursed discussion. I am completely with you on the observations you have made concerning the subtle decorative motif and styling of weapons as related to art.....most well said, and I hope you will stay with your thoughts on this and continue.

I also noticed that circle around the dot, and it is interesting to see how widely applied that symbol is used. I have seen it across North Africa, which indeed reflects considerable influence from Balkans, Europe and Central Asia. It is consistantly seen on many Afghan weapons, such as lohar and I have seen it on the handles of Buzkashi whips. It occurs in India, and is said to reflect extremely ancient symbolism.
Stylistically it is typically thought of as a solar symbol I believe.

In reading your comments, I began looking through sources that I had seen with very pertinant perspective that I think echoes what you have said.
In "Imperial Austria: Treasure of Art, Arms and Armor from the State of Styria" , an exhibition catalog from Fine Arts Museum in Houston, 1992, it is noted that Bruno Thomas and Ortwin Gamber, authors of "Studies in Armor", "...convincingly explained that rather than being mere accessories, weapons are in fact themselves artistic creations that reflect larger stylistic tendancies of a period".

I would expand that to include, tendancies of regions and cultures as well, and the weapons reflect influences that correspond often to the introduction of elements of style or motif of other cultures.

The study of arms and armour history is emphatically also about the study of art, architecture, religion, tradition, superstition, and many other cultural studies. It is unfortunate that often many museums fall short in viewing arms and armour in these perspectives.

Thank you for your views, and I have added my own in hopes that the discussion will continue.

With all very best regards,
Jim