Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

ariel · 5th December 2004, 05:00 PM

I visited the Royal Palace and this museum about 5 years ago. Tremendous number of interesting swords but total lack of any academic information (unlike, say, Topkapi) and absolutely appalling condition. Virtually all exponates are exibited "in the open", and some are stored in flimsy glass cages. The doors to the exhibition rooms lead straight outside and are wide open; there is no climate control and the heat/humidity are unbearable. It was a mystery to me how these blades still retained their form and not disintegrated into small piles of rust. Most blades were covered with dark-brown or reddish layers of rust and the wooden/ivory handles had nasty-looking stains on them. It was sad to look at and very difficult to understand why didn't the Royal family take better care of the national heritage.....

5th December 2004, 05:00 PM	#5
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	I visited the Royal Palace and this museum about 5 years ago. Tremendous number of interesting swords but total lack of any academic information (unlike, say, Topkapi) and absolutely appalling condition. Virtually all exponates are exibited "in the open", and some are stored in flimsy glass cages. The doors to the exhibition rooms lead straight outside and are wide open; there is no climate control and the heat/humidity are unbearable. It was a mystery to me how these blades still retained their form and not disintegrated into small piles of rust. Most blades were covered with dark-brown or reddish layers of rust and the wooden/ivory handles had nasty-looking stains on them. It was sad to look at and very difficult to understand why didn't the Royal family take better care of the national heritage.....