Dagger man: a Balinese wooden kris (dagger) holder,
probably 19th-century, in a European blackamoor style, is one of
the few affable-looking figures among the more than 1000 artefacts
illustrated in a book full of swords, daggers, rifles, and other
finely made but lethal items: Islamic and Oriental Arms and
Armour: A lifetime's passion by Robert Hales, who has supplied
many museums with such pieces (Robert Hales, £85;
978-0-9926315-0-5; available from www.roberthales.co.uk)