Elephant Sword

Rick · 23rd February 2008, 05:36 PM

Bill , was there no postal insurance on this sword ?

I would assume that the piece having arrived broken would be considered a total loss .

Mark · 23rd February 2008, 07:00 PM

I am sorry to say, this is almost certainly a fake. I have no idea what "Siamese history" is being referred to in the description, but having done more than a little research on Siamese history, and in particular martial history, I have never seen a reference to such a sword. The illustration is of a scene from the life of Gautama, the attack of Mara and his demonic hordes attempting to prevent Gautama attaining enlightenment. These are invariably very fanciful in depicting the demonic side, including weapons used, so I don't place much credence in the painting as reflecting anything historical.

To my eye there are a number of big red flags in the photos and description, including the close-up of the break, the poor execution of the fitting decoration, an evident (to me at least) lack of any third-dimension geometry (the blade looks flat, in other words) and the very rough execution of the blade. They hardly shout "spectacular," or "authentic" to me - I am immediately suspicious of such hyped language, anyway. Though perhaps in other contexts a blade roughly cut from a flat piece of steel would be a genuine article of historical manufacture, that was not something that was done in SEA until late in the last century.

If they truly guarantee the authenticity of everything they sell, and provide a certificate to that effect, you should have a legitimate claim to a refund, as the blade on in-hand inspection clearly is not an historical item and they have not provided the certificate. I am curious to know the identity of the "expert in SEA arms & armor," but I expect that if you challenge the seller to name him/her all you will get is evasion.

By the way, feel free to cite me as a recognized expert who says it is junk.

Mark · 23rd February 2008, 07:06 PM

By the way, putting on my moderator hat, please remember that criticisms here must be limited to the item sold, and the seller should not be named or directly attacked. Of course, we are pretty tolerant of direct accusations of dishonest against a seller if there is blatant fraud or a crime involved, and putting the link to the auction is, of course, fine so long as the auction has ended (people can take what they will from the information they get by following the link). But, the basic rule of the forum is to knock the sale, not the seller.

Thank you.

Mark
Vikingsword Staff

23rd February 2008, 05:36 PM	#1
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,336	Bill , was there no postal insurance on this sword ? I would assume that the piece having arrived broken would be considered a total loss .

23rd February 2008, 07:00 PM	#2
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	I am sorry to say, this is almost certainly a fake. I have no idea what "Siamese history" is being referred to in the description, but having done more than a little research on Siamese history, and in particular martial history, I have never seen a reference to such a sword. The illustration is of a scene from the life of Gautama, the attack of Mara and his demonic hordes attempting to prevent Gautama attaining enlightenment. These are invariably very fanciful in depicting the demonic side, including weapons used, so I don't place much credence in the painting as reflecting anything historical. To my eye there are a number of big red flags in the photos and description, including the close-up of the break, the poor execution of the fitting decoration, an evident (to me at least) lack of any third-dimension geometry (the blade looks flat, in other words) and the very rough execution of the blade. They hardly shout "spectacular," or "authentic" to me - I am immediately suspicious of such hyped language, anyway. Though perhaps in other contexts a blade roughly cut from a flat piece of steel would be a genuine article of historical manufacture, that was not something that was done in SEA until late in the last century. If they truly guarantee the authenticity of everything they sell, and provide a certificate to that effect, you should have a legitimate claim to a refund, as the blade on in-hand inspection clearly is not an historical item and they have not provided the certificate. I am curious to know the identity of the "expert in SEA arms & armor," but I expect that if you challenge the seller to name him/her all you will get is evasion. By the way, feel free to cite me as a recognized expert who says it is junk.

23rd February 2008, 07:06 PM	#3
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	By the way, putting on my moderator hat, please remember that criticisms here must be limited to the item sold, and the seller should not be named or directly attacked. Of course, we are pretty tolerant of direct accusations of dishonest against a seller if there is blatant fraud or a crime involved, and putting the link to the auction is, of course, fine so long as the auction has ended (people can take what they will from the information they get by following the link). But, the basic rule of the forum is to knock the sale, not the seller. Thank you. Mark Vikingsword Staff