What do we know? I mean really.

[cornelistromp]

Originally Posted by Ed

The reason I bring this up is that often I hear (particularly from my friends in the curatorial profession) that something "does not look right because we've never seen one before" or words to that effect. So a certain foliation decorative element is "never seen before the 15th century". Fine and good, but what is such a judgement based on?

.

it is based on nothing.

in those rare cases when some self-appointed specialist tells me that he has never seen it before, I Quote Oakeshott:

"that you have never seen it, means absolutely nothing unless you have seen them all, those hundreds thousands of swords"

and of course this is the truth, it means absolutely nothing that an individual has seen something never before, In most of the cases, it does not mean that it is not possible.

best,
Jasper