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Originally Posted by Jim McDougall
It is important to recognize here as has been well pointed out, these examples of pita kaetta are clearly stamped and do not purport to in any way deceive or diminish the cultural properties of the weapons they are fashioned from. They are artistic impressions of the weapon seen more as a tribute to them, and certainly well placed examples of ethnographica in that respect.
The position attempting to compare them categorically to the originals and classify them as copies in the sense of deceptive reproductions is of course entirely specious, however the discussion that has developed has brought fascinating perspective to these kinds of arms.
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Whether or not pamor patterns are "technologically" useful or culturally useful seems immaterial to the discussion for me, though i do appreciate that Ariel made that distinction. The point is that they
do serve an important
cultural and spiritual purpose in the keris world as does the choice of certain wood and wood patterning in the dress. Dismissing legitimacy of the keris because its main function is no longer that of a weapon minimizes its importance as perhaps the single most powerful symbol of an entire culture, a symbolic icon which is still active and functioning in Indonesia to this day. Even though it is not used as a weapon anymore it is far more than merely an item of required dress at certain high functions or an objet d'art.
I don't think anyone here is denying that the French Pihas are indeed collectible items. Of course they are as are miniature arms. Neither has anyone suggested that they have been or could be passed off as the real thing. No one is claiming any deception here. They may or may not attract the edged weapons collector, depending upon their personal tastes in collecting, but they might well be the prize of
somebody's collection somewhere. The F. BARBEDIENNE name is no doubt a big one in the world of French antiques and one of these would certainly attract a lot of attention on the Antiques Road Show. What they are not are ethnographic arms, no matter how you cut it. They are sculptures. Their intention is as a
representation of an ethnographic knife, but to my eyes they are not even really knives per se, they are an artistic representation of a knife. Also to my eye they are FAR less exquisite than good examples of the real thing. My original response to this thread was brought on by all the "wows", "oohs" and "aahs" that these copies seem to have evoked from members. I am still baffled. The funny thing is that i am willing to bet that these sculptural reproductions would probably command a
much higher price in the general world of antiques that the much more exquisitely crafted real example that i posted earlier based solely upon the F. BARBEDIENNE signature. Go figure…
Hopefully some of you will understand what i mean when i say "Ceci nest pas un Piha Kaetta".
