It seems that the reasons why we war are the
only things that have endured in the long history
of armed conflict. In every other way, the very
meaning of the word war has drastically shifted
over the course of several thousand years. As
warrior hoards became structured legions, less
and less emphasis was placed upon individual
prowess and courage. As spear became musket-
the art of battle became nothing more than a
commander’s wit and his numbers. The World
Wars and the machine gun ushered in the current
age of war, in which technology and tactics play
the most important roles in combat- number of
men and the skill of the soldier taking a back
seat. But with great fondness we may recall the
intimate and romantic warfare of the Ancients.
When the prowess of a warrior meant the food in
his belly and the sanctity of his home. When one
met eyes with his opponent, and felt the strength
of his arm and the speed of his leg in the
interconnection of metal. To such soldiers, who
knew that their enemy would be in every way
involved with them personally- the craft and art
of their weapon was just as important as the skill
of their body. The grace and infinite beauty of
this axe-head stand as a testament to the skill of
metallurgists and passion of warrior-artists that
lived and came to arms in Bactria over three
thousand years ago. The sharp sweep of its rear-
blade, the ferocity of the eye that gapes atop its
haft- cover, and the supple fluidity of the blade
make it a dazzling remnant of some the most
romantic battlefields in history. This blade takes
us back to a time when men were men and iron
was iron. It is so very easy to imagine it blazing
through the air- singing a duet of the ripping
wind and tanging metal with the blade of an
enemy. The soldier who held this was infinitely
more involved with his weapon than anything we
in the modern world could hope to experience.
When ever, has such a beautiful masterwork
been so vital to survival? When has an object ever
been witness to such displays of heroism and
strength on our part? It is rare to see an
exhibition of such metallurgical brilliance- and
ever more valuable when we consider the brave
man who carved out his fortunes, and the fate of
empires under its flashing blaze
- (LO.1359)
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