Small ivory hilted gunong restore project

Ian · 13th September 2014, 06:26 PM

What a sweet little gunong Detlef. Jose does lovely work.

I think the valuable metal may have been stripped from this knife originally because of its value. Recently, I have been in touch with an old friend, a long time antique store owner in Manila, who says that he has seen many such pieces stripped of their precious metals so that the silver/gold can be sold. He laments this desecration of old artifacts because he believes he could sell the intact piece for much more than the value of the metal taken off them. He has even offered more than the metal is worth to buy the intact items, but the owners have more faith in selling the silver/gold for cash in their own areas than relying on a middle man in Manila who shops these items to antique dealers like my friend.

Ian.

13th September 2014, 06:26 PM	#13
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	What a sweet little gunong Detlef. Jose does lovely work. I think the valuable metal may have been stripped from this knife originally because of its value. Recently, I have been in touch with an old friend, a long time antique store owner in Manila, who says that he has seen many such pieces stripped of their precious metals so that the silver/gold can be sold. He laments this desecration of old artifacts because he believes he could sell the intact piece for much more than the value of the metal taken off them. He has even offered more than the metal is worth to buy the intact items, but the owners have more faith in selling the silver/gold for cash in their own areas than relying on a middle man in Manila who shops these items to antique dealers like my friend. Ian.