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Originally Posted by ariel
... the blades are very clean, well polished but none are etched. Most of them must be wootz-y, but nobody bothered to reveal the pattern. Was it a philosophy of the museum or just naivete?
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The same is in Wallace Collection, which hosts magnificent Indo Persian arms, some are of such great wootz that it can be seen even on thoroughly polished blades. Simple reason - when collections were formed, the European taste was exclusively towards brightly polished blade, and ALL swords were treated equally i.e. polished bright. Later, when collection became a National Trust, any modification to any object became not easy thing to do. The curators are most certainly aware of wootz and how to reveal it, but all they can apply to a blade without being fired is wax, not acid:-) I am sure one day the blades will be etched and wootz revealed.
By the way, Wallace Collection is working on a new book covering ALL Islamic weapons in their Oriental Rooms. It WILL be a fantastic cataloque for sure. The work has already begun and we will see it in a year or two.