Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Ian · 29th July 2022, 02:16 AM

Hi Rob,

Exchanges of goods and crafts (including craftsmen) between regions along the Mediterranean coast and inland has been ongoing for millennia. Diffusion of styles has been inevitable, as goods and those who made them have moved around the various trading bodies. What works well or looks prestigious in one culture may also be desirable in another, perhaps with some local flair added. Human beings are an imaginative species and we like to tinker with other people's ideas and make our own, culturally appealing items.

We see a similar thing with automobiles. GM takes a Japanese vehicle, brands it with the GM label, and we have an "American" car. Same car, different label, but maybe some different tax implications. The only physical difference is the label. The "true" provenance of the vehicle (design, technical specs, etc.) is Japanese, and if we stripped away the labels we would say it is a Japanese vehicle. But culturally is it not also an American car (US materials, labor, construction).

What if we imported all the pieces and assembled them in the US, would this be an American car culturally? After all, the labor and construction occurred in the US. The Internal Revenue Service might be persuaded that there is sufficient US content to qualify as a locally made vehicle, and thereby provide some tax benefits. But is it truly a US vehicle?

I think we need to look at fundamental design. Edged weapons are defined by their edge, i.e., the blade. Hilt, scabbard, and decorative elements are secondary features, often adjusted to local preferences.

Getting back to knives in question, it seems to me that we have slender, double-edged blades with a centered point, often with a small ricasso or bolster, and circular hilts of diverse materials including various metals and wood. One style we might call Spanish (faca da ponta) and the other West African, according to the cultural decorative elements. The question of which came first is hard to answer. Given the exchange of trade, ideas and craftsmen within that geographic region, it seems likely to me that some diffusion of style occurred. I hesitate to say in which direction that diffusion occurred. However, given that the stiletto form has been around a long time among Mediterranean and Western European countries (and elsewhere) it's hard to know where its origin may have been.

29th July 2022, 02:16 AM	#39
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,033	Hi Rob, Exchanges of goods and crafts (including craftsmen) between regions along the Mediterranean coast and inland has been ongoing for millennia. Diffusion of styles has been inevitable, as goods and those who made them have moved around the various trading bodies. What works well or looks prestigious in one culture may also be desirable in another, perhaps with some local flair added. Human beings are an imaginative species and we like to tinker with other people's ideas and make our own, culturally appealing items. We see a similar thing with automobiles. GM takes a Japanese vehicle, brands it with the GM label, and we have an "American" car. Same car, different label, but maybe some different tax implications. The only physical difference is the label. The "true" provenance of the vehicle (design, technical specs, etc.) is Japanese, and if we stripped away the labels we would say it is a Japanese vehicle. But culturally is it not also an American car (US materials, labor, construction). What if we imported all the pieces and assembled them in the US, would this be an American car culturally? After all, the labor and construction occurred in the US. The Internal Revenue Service might be persuaded that there is sufficient US content to qualify as a locally made vehicle, and thereby provide some tax benefits. But is it truly a US vehicle? I think we need to look at fundamental design. Edged weapons are defined by their edge, i.e., the blade. Hilt, scabbard, and decorative elements are secondary features, often adjusted to local preferences. Getting back to knives in question, it seems to me that we have slender, double-edged blades with a centered point, often with a small ricasso or bolster, and circular hilts of diverse materials including various metals and wood. One style we might call Spanish (faca da ponta) and the other West African, according to the cultural decorative elements. The question of which came first is hard to answer. Given the exchange of trade, ideas and craftsmen within that geographic region, it seems likely to me that some diffusion of style occurred. I hesitate to say in which direction that diffusion occurred. However, given that the stiletto form has been around a long time among Mediterranean and Western European countries (and elsewhere) it's hard to know where its origin may have been.