Well noted Trajan...these are of course aesthetically beautiful pieces.
However, as we have tried to convince museums and much of the public at large, these weapons are often far more than simply just that, but often imbued deeply with cultural significance and history.
Jens is probably one of the most notable scholars on these Indian arms I have ever known, and has spent much of his lifetime researching these kinds of details and bringing their history into a wonderful dimension of their own reflecting their place in that perspective.
Imagine a museum or collection of art works and sculptures with pieces displayed without notation. To admire a wonderful work and when wondering who it was by, and when, and to be told it doesn't matter, its just a beautiful piece. Art collectors, dealers, and museums typically work toward not only labeling, classifying and recording their holdings, and to their credit usually try to effect accuracy.
The values of items, especially antiques, depend virtually entirely on authenticity, history, condition and accurate descriptions, otherwise people would just buy reproductions which look just as beautiful.
I hope you can see what I mean, and I do appreciate what you are saying.
While many collectors are indeed more attuned to the aesthetics and appearance, the larger number (particularly here as seen in the context of discussions) are concerned with a degree of detail.
I guess as an amateur historian I get passionate about that
so please pardon my exuberance.
All best regards,
Jim