The Ethics of Collecting

[Lew]

Originally Posted by ShayanMirza

To be honest, it angers me to see the tools by which my ancestors conquered or died sold on eBay or weapons sites to American or European buyers, who only view it as a typical piece of the such-and-such period, or think it looks pretty, or have an interest in weaponry but not so much the people to whom it mattered so much.

There are cogent points to be made on both ends of the spectrum. Where do we draw the line between collecting the historic, and imperialistically plundering a foreign culture?

What are your thoughts on this?

ShayanMirza

Your referrence to American and European buyers may not be taken in the proper light. I am sure there are plenty of Asian,African and Middle Eastern collectors out there from all of the world as you can plainly see from our membership that acquire antique weapons via the internet. I do not think this topic will end up going in the right direction so I suggest we do not persue this discussion any further.

Regards

Lew