Hello Jim.
I can tell you how the theatrical and film requisite situation looked like in Russia. In Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries, many people had collections of antique arms (both Eastern and European). Interest in collecting antique arms was not the exclusive privilege of the Tzar family. Ordinary officers often possessed very worthy collections of arms and armor.
After the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War in Russia, there were also a lot of weapons left, including sabers and daggers.
Russians who emigrated took part of the weapons with them, some were transferred by representatives of the Soviet government to museums, and some were sent as a requisite to film studios and theaters. And for a long time, authentic items were used on the stage and when shooting movies. Since the late 1980s, and especially in the 1990s (with the collapse of the USSR), enterprising collectors traveled around Russia, visiting theaters and buying authentic, sometimes unique arms and armor from them. There were no special storages in the theaters for arms that were used as props, and sometimes a fine Caucasian shashka could lie on a shelf next to a wooden sword, the "blade" of which was painted with silver paint. In film studios, the situation was more strict. Therefore, samples of ancient arms and armor are still preserved there.
|