There's a really cool exhibit currently at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, called Armed and Dangerous. It contains all kinds of weaponry covering 3,000 years and many cultures. It's interesting to see how mankind used available materials, copied the natural defenses of animals, and how weaponry evolved over the centuries. One of the things that really stood out to me was man's apparent need (or strong desire) to decorate his weapons.
Check out the Brooks website www.brooksmuseum.org for more information.
And while I'm on the subject, I'd like to pass on some information about chain maille. I am also involved in making jewelry, and I'm trying to do some things with chain maille. It was used as protection at one time, until weapons were created that eliminated its usefulness. And now, it is used to make some really amazing jewelry. To learn more, see http://www.beadinggem.com/2008/02/chain-maille-ancient-and-modern-uses.html.
