An experiment

[erlikhan]

Rivkin, your logic -may be- correct if you mean a full new production form zero to 100 percent, as no master can have knowledge and skill in all fields of art which act role to form a complete old weapon. It needs a real big investment devotion and energy, to train and keep together enough number of different artists in a single workshop. But.. who cares about a undecorated simple blade and scabbard so much? Such a lets say shamshir is hardly worth of 500 dollars, but if it has just a little gold koftgari on blade and scabbard mountings with worked silver or iron with koftgari, it immidiately goes over 1500-2000 dollars. So some countries focus especially on koftgari and silverwork. Iran leads by far. I know Iranian dealers who have offered me to win some decorated Turkish pistols from an auction in Turkey, then they would take them to Iran, and produce exactly the same in numbers like 20 per piece. I know they can do it. Unlike India they can work very succesfully old looking koftgari too. I know dealers,who have been sending their edged weapons and pistols there,and they come back with very good,deep and old looking koftgari decorations on blades, barrels,locks elevating price of items hundreds or thousands of dollars. One must worry about not a totally fake Islamic arm but decorative tricks which are very desicive about the demand and price. Even the most respectful auctions dont mean a 100 percent authenticity guarantee.