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Originally Posted by ariel
Richard,
No argument here!
Of course, it would be fabulously interesting to know the metallurgy of the pre, - and early Islamic swords. The tools are available, but the material is scarce and jealously ( and rightfully so!) guarded. Where is a second Henry Moser to donate 6 of his wootz blades for destructive analysis? Moreover, wootz blades are small peanuts in comparison to the 6-7-8th century Arab swords:-)
When I was in Topkapi, these swords were tightly guarded, set at a safe distance from the public and surrounded by rather athletic-looking "watchers". I am marveling at Ahmed's power of persuasion: to convince Topkapi's staff to let him, a 20-something year old undergraduate visitor from another country, not only to handle the coronation sword of Ottoman Sultans, but actually to bend it 45 degrees! One needs years of correspondence, tight connections, letters of recommendation, inter-museum contacts and who know what else just to be allowed to visit store rooms at the Hermitage and, likely, at any other serious museum in the world. Perhaps, he can convince his friends from Topkapi to donate a piece of this sword to you for careful study.
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Ariel,
The answer to all these questions would lay in a few words:
"Protocol; accompanied by almost endless bureaucracy procedures, luck, mutual understanding, and an innocent love story!"
As for your last proposal, I don't think this would be possible...EVER!
Cheers!
Ahmed