Tourist or Real Deal?

ward · 25th July 2015, 05:16 PM

I believe that knife would be hard pressed to keep a sharp edge. So I would classify that item as decorative.

A lot of qajar weapons fall into the religious festival use so again a iffy subject. Other cultures have their own various reenactments or celebrations.

kahnjar1 · 25th July 2015, 08:05 PM

Thanks all who replied here. I am happy with the answer that as these are functional items, and that they are not SPECIFICALLY made for the tourist trade.
I will follow with interest Ward's new post.
Stu

rickystl · 26th July 2015, 06:15 PM

Hi Stu.
Now look what you've gone and done. You re-opened this can of worms. LOL!!

Seriously, it's a great question that will probably be discussed around collector camp fires for more years to come. And yes, it's probably worthy of it's own Thread.
The answer(s) could be "all of the above". These flasks seem to fall in three "general" catagories. 1. Genuine antique items, say pre-1920's that were made of enough quality to be functional, yet could also be sold to a tourist. 2. Items made in the last three quarters of the 20th Century to be sold primarily to tourists. 3. Then there's everything else made from the late 20th Century through today. Many of the metal flasks I see for sale today look as if they were made from wax castings of an original. And they are even reasonably well made and functional, but just not old, or carried by a warrior.

Here are some pics of a well made - but still a Tourist item. Have no idea how old it is, but I'm guessing it's about mid 1950's or so. There are two reasons I know this is a tourist item. 1. The strap is made of tight woven, but thin cotton. Which produces more vivid colors, but not as strong as wool. 2. The most important feature is that if you poke a pencil dowm the spout, it is not drilled through to the base of the flask body. So there's no way to add powder.
Rick.

25th July 2015, 08:05 PM	#2
kahnjar1 Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND Posts: 2,786	Thanks Gentlemen Thanks all who replied here. I am happy with the answer that as these are functional items, and that they are not SPECIFICALLY made for the tourist trade. I will follow with interest Ward's new post. Stu

26th July 2015, 06:15 PM	#3
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,630	Hi Stu. Now look what you've gone and done. You re-opened this can of worms. LOL!! Seriously, it's a great question that will probably be discussed around collector camp fires for more years to come. And yes, it's probably worthy of it's own Thread. The answer(s) could be "all of the above". These flasks seem to fall in three "general" catagories. 1. Genuine antique items, say pre-1920's that were made of enough quality to be functional, yet could also be sold to a tourist. 2. Items made in the last three quarters of the 20th Century to be sold primarily to tourists. 3. Then there's everything else made from the late 20th Century through today. Many of the metal flasks I see for sale today look as if they were made from wax castings of an original. And they are even reasonably well made and functional, but just not old, or carried by a warrior. Here are some pics of a well made - but still a Tourist item. Have no idea how old it is, but I'm guessing it's about mid 1950's or so. There are two reasons I know this is a tourist item. 1. The strap is made of tight woven, but thin cotton. Which produces more vivid colors, but not as strong as wool. 2. The most important feature is that if you poke a pencil dowm the spout, it is not drilled through to the base of the flask body. So there's no way to add powder. Rick. Attached Images

25th July 2015, 05:16 PM	#1
ward Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 637	I believe that knife would be hard pressed to keep a sharp edge. So I would classify that item as decorative. A lot of qajar weapons fall into the religious festival use so again a iffy subject. Other cultures have their own various reenactments or celebrations.