GUNONG on EBAY

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by David

I am basically in agreement with you Ibrahiim. I doubt that the metal is silver simply because the seller (who sells a great deal of similar Moro weapons on eBay) made absolutely no mention of the nature of the material. A seasoned and astute seller such as this would undoubtably mention silver as a selling point if it were the case.
I would be quite pleased to see the continuance of high quality tradition weapons being produced in the area. My only concern is that they all appear to have been "aged" for appearance sake and then presented with no claim to age whatsoever. This kind of leaves the question open for the buyer and as we all probably know, people tend to believe what they want to believe if not told otherwise. And then, if a buyer who assumes the item has age turns around a couple of years later and sells it it might then become labelled as "early 20th Century" or some other nonsense like that. Of course, it is always "buyer beware", isn't it...

Salaams David ~ I agree. If the seller can be given a prod to divulge the material(silver) then I think it will clear up the problem. The work looks new but I see no deliberate attempt to age the weapon. The copper rings on the hilt are completely new and there are no dents in any of the metalwork. The horn looks "as is" without any deliberately applied "wear.'' I get no clues from the blade at all. Thus it appears new, though, in the best traditions of the style, however, a confirmation from the seller would allow collectors to better decide.

In countries where ethnographics are ongoing and live I see no problem with the new item being faithfully reproduced in the old way (in fact in some countries the buyer often insists upon a brand new item since why would he want to wear something someone else has worn ? That is certainly often the case in the market in Oman and the UAE appertaining to local people as opposed to foreigners who tend to go for older items) provided it is certificated and the ethnographic collecting fraternity are aware of the situation these weapons can join the historical tradition... Your final note of "buyer beware" being key.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.