Impressions of the book Arms and armor in the khanates of Central Asia
Impressions of the book Arms and armor in the khanates of Central Asia (Bukhara, Kokand, Khiva) in the late 18th - early 20th centuries.
Yesterday I received a book from Dmitry (and before that a translation of the book in PDF format) and I want to share my first impressions.
The quality of the iconography is amazing with many colour engravings, oils paintings, water colours, old photographs and recent drawings of weapons for this publication.
The book starts with an Historical background about collectors in the West and in Russia. The first collections of oriental arms in Russia date back to the 15th to 18th century in royal collections of the Tzar. Russia had diplomatic relationships with the Khanates, Russian foreign trade with Bukharan merchants goes back to the 16th century. The collections in Russian museums were created around old diplomatic gifts, trophies of war, and objects collected by ethnographic expeditions during the colonial period.
The description of warfare and armies it gives the reader a lot of documentation about the history and cultural context of the weapons studied. This chapter is supported by quotations from travellers and military men.
The swords, shashkas, spears and other arms presented in the book are amazing.
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