Chinese Bronze Age dagger

[laEspadaAncha]

Originally Posted by VANDOO

I AM SORRY TO SEE CHINESE CRAFTSMEN DO THIS SORT OF THING AS THEY HAVE THE SKILL TO MAKE REPLICAS THAT ARE AS GOOD AS OR IN SOME CASES BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL ITEMS.

This has always been no small source of irony for me.

With a 5,000 year-old tradtion of metworking, it is a sad commentary that we most often attach to a Chinese attribution such modifiers as "fake" and "junk."



ETA: From the "ones that got away" file:

I once had a Luristan dagger/short sword that still had its original ivory inserts (on both sides)... It was one of two pcs. in the lot, the other described as Mycenaean, both from the same ex-Christie's lot. I sold the former to pay for keeping the latter, though I wish in hindsight I had sold something else instead...

[David R]

While we are on the subject of replica bronzes, here's one I bought in Denmark. Sold to me as a Museum REPLICA and one of a limited run, cast from an excavated original.