For more news visit ☛http://english.ntdtv.com<br /><br />And now we move to Warsaw, Poland, where visitors to an auction house gallery turned out for a presentation of Japanese antiques and precious works of art. Here's more from our correspondent.<br /><br />Enthusiasts of ancient Japanese artifacts were treated to a special exhibition at the Marchand gallery in Warsaw on Saturday.<br /><br />[Iza Rusiniak, Director, Desa Auction House]:<br />"We wanted to bring the fascinating phenomenon of Japanese art closer to all those who are interested and to all our clients."<br /><br />Acclaimed Japan expert and writer Mr Henryk Socha was also on hand at this one-of-a-kind exhibition. <br /><br />He gave a presentation about Japanese artifacts.<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />Some of the artifacts on display date as far back as the 14th century. <br /><br />Mr Socha took an antique wakizashi sword apart during his talk and showed that it had been used in combat. <br /><br />According to him, it saved its owner's life three times.<br /><br />[Henryk Socha, Japan Expert and Author]:<br />"Japanese weapons -- the world over, not just in Poland - are considered to be the closest thing to perfection and the utmost in metallurgical achievement. And here we have such rare items as Japanese armor, a battle helmet made of 32 separate plates, and over a dozen swords - swords dating back many centuries. The oldest one is 600 years old."<br /><br />And for those who just couldn't bear to leave without a souvenir, there was good news. <br /><br />All the artifacts on display were for sale.<br /><br />[Henryk Socha, Japan Expert and Author]:<br />"It turns out that besides the sword, there's an entire world of Japanese craft, which is at the same level of artistry, or greater, than the samurai sword. There are small objects called Netsuke and tiny objects called Inro - they can even be more expensive than the samurai sword."<br /><br />This Japanese katana has a price tag of over $30 thousand U.S. dollars. <br /><br />It would appear that timeless beauty of the Orient does not come cheap.<br /><br />NTD News, Warsaw, Poland<br />Tom Ozimek
