late 16th century Sword for id.

[Cerjak]

Originally Posted by Tordenskiold1721

I think this is a late 16th century or ca 1600 sword for the foot. Possibly a Pikeman's sword. The grip and wire wrap is new. 16th Century grips and wire wraps are slightly different. Your grip and wire wrap is made after late 17th early 18th century style. The Turk heads could be original in my subjective opinion.

If you take a look at the attached photo, you will see similar "flat" swords at the bottom left in the photo. The difference is that the pommel on the swords attached is more egg shaped but also flat as yours with the same simple guard. The blades are longer and the hilts larger, thus making them more suitable for the horse. Armies often / sometimes used similar swords for the foot and horse, but the dimensions are different and fitted to what type of use the sword is intended for. Swords for the horse also tend to show a little better craftsmanship but not as a rule.

I really like how you manage to take your photos on clear white background in the same professional manner as auction houses.

How do you do it ? I am still a novice when it comes to photographing my own humble collection. Any advice on how to get your quality photos would be much appreciated. Set up, light setting, shadow, etc.

Dear Tordenskiold
I ‘m still not fully happy with the result but with the time it became better.
To have good picture the most important it is the lighting, and after a good lens
I ‘m using a Sigma 17-50 1:2.8 or Canon 85 MM 1:2.8 .
Also you have to forget the program or auto mode and choose the manual mode so you can play with combination speed and diaphragm. Especially with a white background the exposure need some correction
About lighting if you don’t have material you can always use the day lite and you will discover that at certain time of the day you can have a perfect light and you could also with days light add one studio lamps in order to remove the shadow if needed.
Inside picture are much more difficult and need a minimum of 3 lights and for small object the best is to use a tent ( you can make it easily with white textile ) it can be used also outside when the sun is too strong.
At last Photoshop is helpful to give the final touch.
I hope it will help you .
Best
CERJAK