Why and What We Collect--A Tale of Two Barung

[fernando]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

... In later years I built a pretty decent collection of Indian hand struck coins ...

Sorry to interrupt the conversation, Alan ...
Are you referring to this type of coins ?
These are Karshapanas of the Maurya Dinasty (300 BC), allegedly found in the Elephanta Island.
... But i learnt they are not that rare

.

[A. G. Maisey]

They may not be rare, but I haven't seen them.

However, yes, more or less like that, but mine are much later. I've got a few quite elderly coins, but these are not Indian.

I'll put up a pic or two as soon as I get a chance.

[ariel]

Going to the extreme, which one would you buy: old, beat up khanda with nick-ed edges and simple Old Indian hilt or a modern Rajastani replica with modern damascus blade and a hilt covered in golden decorations?

Both are genuine Indian, both reflect centuries-old tradition, but... the lavish example has no magic of history behind it. It has no tales to tell.

I go for the simple and old examples.
My wife once asked me whether I thought that some.. at least some... of my sword actually, you know.... KILLED people?
Well, - I said, - I hope so!

Otherwise, they would not be weapons. Wall hangers, no more. No amount of decoration, Kirk Narduban , exotic pamor, rare wood, shiny blade or perfect fit of the scabbard or a handle can substitute for the aura of history.


This is my personal view, and I defininitely don't want to impose my philosophy on anybody. Please, have your rich, decorated, pristine things. I shall be only glad to go for the old, often beat up and simple fighting examples. To each his own.

[fernando]

Originally Posted by ariel

...No amount of decoration, Kirk Narduban , exotic pamor, rare wood, shiny blade or perfect fit of the scabbard or a handle can substitute for the aura of history.
...

Amen
I don't collect this kind of weapons, but the reasoning is the same for any area.
I also take it that antiquity prevails over any other attributes.

[A. G. Maisey]

Here are a couple pics of pages from my coin album, pretty typical of the rest of it, a mixture of coins from far away places and mostly historic, with a weighting towards Indian hand strucks.

Not much that is of any real value, not much that is really old. But all a bit exotic.

[A. G. Maisey]

That's a pretty clear statement of motivation Ariel.

I've often encountered this and I continue to find it very interesting.

[Rick]

Weapons of conflict raised by desperate men in desperate times .
There's something to be said for that .

[Andrew]

I am an extremely "focused" collector: while I love to see, handle, read about every sort of weapon (cold, hot, edged, etc.) I only collect things from Continental SEA. Indeed, I am so focused, I typically eschew most Vietnamese weapons as they are, to my eye, more Chinese than SEA.

I have, over the years, acquired some nice pieces from other areas, particularly if they are interesting or under-priced. However, I rarely keep those things around very long--if something doesn't "belong" or "fit into" my existing collection, it makes me feel...uncomfortable.

Yes, this is likely a condition one would find in the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), but I am who I am.

One benefit of my compulsive collecting behavior, however, is I do enjoy collecting the entire spectrum of weapons from my favored region--plain, battle-weary examples happily reside alongside lavish beautiful things.

[fernando]

Originally Posted by A. G. Maisey

Here are a couple pics of pages from my coin album, pretty typical of the rest of it, a mixture of coins from far away places and mostly historic, with a weighting towards Indian hand strucks.

Not much that is of any real value, not much that is really old. But all a bit exotic.

Yeah, quite a difference in age between these interesting examples of yours and the early karshapanas i posted ... actualy the only pieces i keep since i quit collecting coins (no budget for collecting both early/silver/gold coins & antique weapons ).
It didn't occur to me that, at the age of your rupees, coins still were hand struck; my kignorance

[Jens Nordlunde]

Andrew,
No reason to exchuse that you have chosen to collect within a relatively 'small' area :-).
So have I, as my wife many years ago explained to me that I should chose what to collect. I had Indian weapons a fantastic saif, and some beautiful shasquas, but the Indian colelction was by far the biggest, so I coose Indian weapons.
To collect weapons from a specific area means, that research is directed to this area only, and it gives you a very big knowledge about weapons from this area. Some restricts their collection even more, to maybe 15th to 18th century, and this gives an even more concentrated knowledge :-).
Jens

[A. G. Maisey]

Fernando, I've been told by a couple of dealers that they're handstruck, but whether they are or not, I don't know enough to argue about.

My understanding is that this type of coin was made in a mint, the slugs of metal were placed in one die, and another die was placed on top of the slug, then it was struck, which resulted in the pattern appearing on both sides of the coin, and the lower die contained the sides ,thus giving the more or less regular shape.

But all this could be flim-flam, because I know nothing in this field.

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by Jens Nordlunde

Andrew,
No reason to exchuse that you have chosen to collect within a relatively 'small' area :-).
So have I, as my wife many years ago explained to me that I should chose what to collect. I had Indian weapons a fantastic saif, and some beautiful shasquas, but the Indian colelction was by far the biggest, so I coose Indian weapons.
To collect weapons from a specific area means, that research is directed to this area only, and it gives you a very big knowledge about weapons from this area. Some restricts their collection even more, to maybe 15th to 18th century, and this gives an even more concentrated knowledge :-).
Jens

I'm quite happy in my "small" world, Jens...as I suspect you are.