Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

A. G. Maisey · 23rd October 2007, 12:31 AM

I could, but I would prefer not to.

I do not know sufficient about the Balinese culture to be able to give a supportable interpretation of this feature in terms that would be comprehensible to us, and acceptable to the relevant culture at the time when this handle was made.

David, when we wish to involve ourselves in the interpretation of symbols that belong to a time and a culture other than our own, we are treading on very, very dangerous ground. To truly understand these things we need to be able to see them and understand them from the perspective of a Balinese royal personage of more than 100 years ago.To do other than this is simply to place a name-- which may or may not be correct in the relevant context --- on something which we have no hope of understanding. At best, this can cause us to appear naive.

23rd October 2007, 12:31 AM	#35
A. G. Maisey Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 6,697	I could, but I would prefer not to. I do not know sufficient about the Balinese culture to be able to give a supportable interpretation of this feature in terms that would be comprehensible to us, and acceptable to the relevant culture at the time when this handle was made. David, when we wish to involve ourselves in the interpretation of symbols that belong to a time and a culture other than our own, we are treading on very, very dangerous ground. To truly understand these things we need to be able to see them and understand them from the perspective of a Balinese royal personage of more than 100 years ago.To do other than this is simply to place a name-- which may or may not be correct in the relevant context --- on something which we have no hope of understanding. At best, this can cause us to appear naive.