Quote:
Originally Posted by cornelistromp
There are now so many counterfeits in excavated swords on offer that the majority of collectors no longer know what a real excavated sword should look like.
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As to overall agreement about the current state of affairs, I would say that we are
100% in agreement.
I did a detailed XRF study of my collection and discovered many interesting things. I still am far from really understanding the data (COVID came along and killed interpretative progress!) but some items that had received a thumbs down from the "great denunciator" appear to have been vindicated, while questions were raised about other well regarded swords that had passed so many other hurdles. The technical examination conclusively 'killed' one Viking style sword that had come before 2000 from a most reliable dealer and embarrassingly I only recognized the anachronistic stylistic features after they were pointed out to me and this led to my review of the technical data and a horrible sinking feeling. I never had suspected that sword as it had come from a most reliable dealer before the preset scourge of forgeries became apparent. At least it was not a personal favorite.
I suspect that some of the recent fabrications from before around 2000 may have been what I will call exercises in "academic craftsmanship" and were not at the outset ever intended to deceive. Then the items fell into the wrong hands.