Doug:

But at what point did it turn from utility to art( at the stage of blades, barrels, etc.)? Or was it ever in the form of utility? We should be far enough removed in time to look beyond the conquerors and their religion to look at the byproduct of the agression as the transfer of technology. Or if it's regarding the events of today, it could be attributed to the cyclic nature of history. But at any rate as for me, revdrewdoc, Pete, dbadcraig and many other's posts has created a stir and I plan to be better informed on the topic by additional research.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse