The hilt is rhino horn. As far as taking artefacts apart in order to recycle some of the materials used in them, it is something that has occurred throughout human history, and is not unique to weapons. As collectors, we assign a special value to complete objects, and believe in historical preservation, but for someone who needs to make a living, the melt value of precious metals or the value per gram of an organic object used in traditional medicine is all that matters. We can't know for sure who won the auction and what this person will do with the sword, but it is up to us as collectors to acquire and preserve these items, not up to others to share the same values as ours.
|