Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - The Falchion or Malchus, the rarest medieval sword

cornelistromp · 5th April 2012, 01:29 PM

independently of an opinion on the authenticity of # 1 # 2 # 3. I do see the importance of provenance, forgeries have reached the last two decades such a high level that every specialist can be fooled.
Unfortunately without clear provenance laboratory research has become essential.
A sword for example, that has been auctioned in the 30's at one of the famous auction houses gives me more confidence than one that just appears out of nowhere and where the origin is shrouded in mist, a so-called pop-up sword.
Swords that do not come from the ground and must have been kept indoors somewhere for 600 years, any information older than 20 years must be found without great effort.
I do not expect that any specialist whatsoever can give in all cases a definitive and infallible judgment, based on a visual inspection alone.
Some swords in my collection have been published in ROMS and the dimensions or describtion do not correspond with reality.
Furthermore, I know examples of original swords offered by famous auction houses as 19th century reproductions and, unfortunately also vice versa.
Some kind of Provenance, how short or unimportant it may look, is not everything but it helps.

best,

5th April 2012, 01:29 PM	#41
cornelistromp Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 1,057	independently of an opinion on the authenticity of # 1 # 2 # 3. I do see the importance of provenance, forgeries have reached the last two decades such a high level that every specialist can be fooled. Unfortunately without clear provenance laboratory research has become essential. A sword for example, that has been auctioned in the 30's at one of the famous auction houses gives me more confidence than one that just appears out of nowhere and where the origin is shrouded in mist, a so-called pop-up sword. Swords that do not come from the ground and must have been kept indoors somewhere for 600 years, any information older than 20 years must be found without great effort. I do not expect that any specialist whatsoever can give in all cases a definitive and infallible judgment, based on a visual inspection alone. Some swords in my collection have been published in ROMS and the dimensions or describtion do not correspond with reality. Furthermore, I know examples of original swords offered by famous auction houses as 19th century reproductions and, unfortunately also vice versa. Some kind of Provenance, how short or unimportant it may look, is not everything but it helps. best, Last edited by cornelistromp; 5th April 2012 at 02:27 PM.