So... real or fake?

[driftwould]

Originally Posted by VANDOO

THIS IS AN UNUSUAL COMBINATION THE SMALL KNIFE IS A OLD FORM FROM ALGERIA THEY ARE SOMETIMES FOUND IN A SET OF TWO USUALLY ALL STEEL. THE LARGER KNIFE HAS SOME OF THE SAME DECORATION PATTERNS AND TECKNIQUES USED ON WHAT IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS A WEDDING NIMCHA. THIS IS ALSO A ALGERIAN FORM MOST WEDDING NIMCHA HAVE A CURVED BLADE AND ARE FOR SHOW NOT FOR USE. THIS EXAMPLE HAS A STRAIGHT BLADE AND THE FORM OF THE HANDLE IS DIFFERENT FROM THE NIMCHA FORM. IT DOSEN'T LOOK LIKE A NEW TOURIST ITEM BUT IS PROBABLY 1930'S AT OLDEST. PERHAPS SOMEONE WITH MORE KNOWLEGE IN THIS FIELD CAN PIN IT DOWN FOR YOU.

That helps a lot, thanks! How did you get to know that much? It might not be "enough" for a solid answer, but it sure beats the heck out of my absolute 0 knowledge!

For me, at the beginning of a collection, I'm ok with a piece like this as long as it was made in the real place, by the real people, using real, time honored techniques and not some low quality, tourist specific knock off technique. For me, at least so far, the pieces are about capturing the cultural artistry and the history it represents, rather than specifically needing to be super old. Of course, older is better, but still...

On that note, I really am at the beginning of collecting, so insights and thoughts on increasing the mileage I get out of a particular purchase would be really helpful! I'm not buying for re-sale value or dollar value, but would like insights into what other people consider when collecting things like this.

Also, is there a good source of information about what constitutes a reasonable price for a broad variety of this kind of thing, especially across different cultures? I'd also like to ask the same question about telling fakes from real items and the quality of a given item.

Thanks again for your insights, I already feel I have a better appreciation of this piece! Incidentally, do you think I got a reasonably good price? With shipping, it's $147 US.