XPost: rec.antiques, rec.antiques.marketplace   
   From: dingbat@codesmiths.com   
      
   On 13 Aug 2005 14:29:16 -0700, t-13@webemails.com wrote:   
      
   >seen an Indian Rug hanging up in Tennessee. This year I saw at least 10   
   >of them. Hanging on the same type of hanger as was shown on the Roadshow,   
   >obviously fakes."   
   >   
   >That's it, Jeffie, it's the hangers that matter.   
      
   Of course the hangers matter. They're not the only guide to a fake, but   
   they add to the amusement of catching one.   
      
   One of my interests is in Japanese swords. Now WW2 swords have been   
   faked by the Chinese since the mid-40s and in the recent "eBay years"   
   we've seen an absolute flurry of poor quality fakes of all periods of   
   sword - usually $50 bargain bucket rubbish of appalling quality. Lately   
   though we're seeing good quality fakes starting to appear  - 17th   
   century styles, no stainless steel, no screwheads, generally pretty good   
   work.   
      
   And if you open up a standard reference book like Sato you can turn to   
   an illustration of a wel-known historical sword and play spot the fake   
   with it. And what's more, the fake will also have exactly matching   
   irrelevances like the sageo tying cords and the stand it was arranged on   
   for the book photo.   
      
   Good fakers fake the piece. Lesser fakers fake _everything_, even the   
   surroundings. We've heard the stories of the copied museum inventory   
   labels showing up on a "found" piece before.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)