Kaskara?? Expensive to say the least.

thinreadline · 23rd December 2022, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TVV

Until someone is kind enough to let us know what the blade inscription says, we can only speculate.

It takes at least two people to arrive at the hammer price, one of which may have been willing to exceed 100k GBP and another who was willing to pay an amount very close to that. So more than one person saw something very special about this sword and it almost certainly has to do with the blade.

It may be just me being ignorant, but I had not heard about this auction house before. It is not one that seems to specialize in arms and armor. For two major collectors or dealers to find this particular sword, sandwiched between lots of a 20th century military drum and a bottle of Johnny Walker from 2016 and bid it up this high is most unusual.

This all assumes the price displayed is correct.

Its a fairly minor and non specialist auction house run by Anita Manning who makes regular appearances on British 'popular' TV entertainment antiques programmes such as 'Flog It' and 'Bargain Hunt' .

Norman McCormick · 23rd December 2022, 12:50 PM

Hi,
This auction house as with others has very limited expertise in many areas so it is no surprise that the estimate was 'somewhat inaccurate', certainly not a place I would ever choose to use. Having said that this particular piece has surprised all here so the auction house is somewhat vindicated in this instance.
Regards,
Norman.

Norman McCormick · 3rd January 2023, 05:27 PM

Hi,
It would appear the hammer price is now £54,000, still expensive though. Maybe it will get cheaper still.

Regards,
Norman.

mariusgmioc · 4th January 2023, 10:52 AM

This isn't the first, and definitely won't be the last piece that sells waaay above its estimated money value.

It was so much speculated about its possible mysterious provenance but in the end the explanation for its whooping price can be much simpler and mundane.

There are many hobbyists and collectors that measure their fortunes not in millions, not in tens of millions and not even in hundreds of millions but in billions and even tens and hundreds of billions. For such persons the monetary price of an item has no significance whatsoever since if they want something they can pay no matter what in order to get it, while their overall fortune is not affected at all. It would be like me wanting badly to get an item estimated at 1 cent and ending up paying 5 or 10 dollars.

And this may be the case here.

Of course this is also a speculation like all the others.

Kmaddock · 4th January 2023, 02:09 PM

I agree Marius
But In an auction there must be at least 2 people who see the value.
I am sure the seller and auction house are delighted.
Regards
Ken

ariel · 4th January 2023, 03:55 PM

An extremely wealthy buyer is but one possibility (see#3).
But we still do not know the meaning of the inscription. Perhaps, just perhaps, it may show some exceptional provenance ( killing Chinese Gordon??)

Tim Simmons · 4th January 2023, 04:05 PM

No that will be a spear in the next auction.

4th January 2023, 10:52 AM	#4
mariusgmioc Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Austria Posts: 1,882	money-wise This isn't the first, and definitely won't be the last piece that sells waaay above its estimated money value. It was so much speculated about its possible mysterious provenance but in the end the explanation for its whooping price can be much simpler and mundane. There are many hobbyists and collectors that measure their fortunes not in millions, not in tens of millions and not even in hundreds of millions but in billions and even tens and hundreds of billions. For such persons the monetary price of an item has no significance whatsoever since if they want something they can pay no matter what in order to get it, while their overall fortune is not affected at all. It would be like me wanting badly to get an item estimated at 1 cent and ending up paying 5 or 10 dollars. And this may be the case here. Of course this is also a speculation like all the others.

23rd December 2022, 12:50 PM	#2
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,577	Hi, This auction house as with others has very limited expertise in many areas so it is no surprise that the estimate was 'somewhat inaccurate', certainly not a place I would ever choose to use. Having said that this particular piece has surprised all here so the auction house is somewhat vindicated in this instance. Regards, Norman.

3rd January 2023, 05:27 PM	#3
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,577	Hi, It would appear the hammer price is now £54,000, still expensive though. Maybe it will get cheaper still. Regards, Norman.

4th January 2023, 02:09 PM	#5
Kmaddock Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Ireland Posts: 533	I agree Marius But In an auction there must be at least 2 people who see the value. I am sure the seller and auction house are delighted. Regards Ken

4th January 2023, 03:55 PM	#6
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	An extremely wealthy buyer is but one possibility (see#3). But we still do not know the meaning of the inscription. Perhaps, just perhaps, it may show some exceptional provenance ( killing Chinese Gordon??)

4th January 2023, 04:05 PM	#7
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,742	No that will be a spear in the next auction.