An interesting disaster
Sometimes things just don't turn out well when buying through the mail.
A few weeks ago I made a moderately expensive online purchase of an old Buddha ceremonial sword that appeared to have a silver finish on it. It was probably Thai in origin and likely 18th or 19th C. The overall length was roughly 24 inches, which is large for items of this type.
When it arrived, I was dismayed to find that the blade had snapped in two during transit as a result of inferior packaging by the seller (who has promised to make good on the cost, and with whom I have had no unpleasantness). My disappointment was somewhat allayed when I noticed that the "sword" comprised a stone core with a thin metal sheet covering. The whole thing was quite heavy, weighing roughly 4.4 pounds (2 kg), which was one of the attractions when I saw it online--my first thought was that it was solid bronze.
Now, I am wondering if this was a common practice with ritual/religious objects of SE Asia. Has anyone had similar experiences with knives that were stone covered with metal? Perhaps it was a common type of construction or an old way of perpetrating a fraud (a cheap core sold as solid metal).
Attached are pictures of the sword/knife in two pieces and a close up of the stone core.
Ian
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