What Will You Do ?

[Rick]

Mabagani wrote :

" So in light of the different theories of where we're headed, what's everyone have planned for their collections. I went through a house fire over a year ago, caused by a smoking tenant, my family was not harmed (thank God) and for some uncanny reason my entire collection was spared damage, but I've downsized quite a bit after a move...when I saw the place up in flames I kissed everything goodbye but was suprised to be able to recover all my belongings, sooner or later the artifacts need to be preserved by the next generation, maybe move them on to close relatives and friends, also universities and museums I've worked with..."

To which I responded :

Mabagani et al ,
I seriously don't know what to do with most of mine ; a few might be museum worthy but only if I know that they would never be deacessioned ; if that's going to happen then I'll sell them myself .
If I knew of my imminent demise I believe that I would offer some of them to fellow forum members who I know would respect them and keep them safe; I'm not saying for free ; more like for cost or possibly a little less .
I would like to see my Moro stuff go back into that community to further enhance that culture from which so much has been stolen .
A few pieces I would leave to my Son ; all in all I want to have these artifacts live on being appreciated rather than locked in a drawer to slowly rust in a museum .

No joking please; I'm serious .

How about the rest of you ?

[mross]

Thought about this alot. I am investing in fire proof storage. I plan on givng them to my children while I'm still around. If they are not intrested then I would most likely sell them to fellow collectors. I have my doubts about giving them to museums. Museums tend to have limited space and interest. Unless you have a drop dead collection it will most likley end up stored or sold off. I have heard enough of these happening from other collectors to accept it. I know from the nihonto world unless the sword is a long lost national treasure or close to it, they are not intrested. It seem fellow collectors are the way to go. Just my two kopecks.

[katana]

Good Question Rick,
my collection is small, but the African weapons I have collected tend to be irreplaceable, why? because as African countries seek modernisation ....the old tribal ways are being erroded away and old values (and weapons) no longer have such significance. I would hope ..... that commonsense will prevail....and that collections will not be confiscated or destroyed.
And as they say ...hope springs eternal....what ever that means....

(this answer (above) is due to the current 'Knife amnesty' and its repercussions)

One of my sons always comments on my new 'additions'......cool
being the main one.....I would hope he would 'take them on'........

[Rick]

Kudos to Mabagani for asking the question first .
I only answered .

It is indeed a subject to ponder .

[Rivkin]

Dear All,

I am sorry for coming up with my anti-museum rant, but unfortunately I would most likely opt against donating to most of the museums - they exhibit an unbelievably small proportion of the items they own; while they are a great source of study for professional academians, I find over and over again that a fellow collector is much more likely to take his camera out and mail you the pictures you asked about, rather than any museum would ever do. I know, once in fifty years they publish a catalogue or a groundbreaking book, but in the mean time...

I would've left most important pieces (not that I currently have any) to those who shall inherit, with a proper description of what to do. I would have arranged for the rest to be sold.

[Pangeran Datu]

Originally Posted by Rick

Mabagani wrote :

No joking please; I'm serious .

How about the rest of you ?

Again. just my two-bobs' worth:
Every piece in my collection has been categorised and catalogued to the best of my ability. My whole collection will be bequeathed to my progeny.I continually educate all my children on the history/esoterics relevant. As my children grow, I watch any interest they may develop in this area, as well as their personal development. This helps me to determine which piece will go to whom. It is an ongoing and iterative process and one that I hope will allow me to make the right decisions. In the event of my untimely demise, I will at least have tried my best to ensure that each piece went to the most appropriate person. Hopefully, this will help to preserve/propagate the appreciaton/history/ culture of the peoples who produced these wonderful pieces.

Cheers.

[Tim Simmons]

If I could see the end was nigh. I would give one or two pieces to friends/family and possibly for a small sum to other collectors/members? in the hope that they would be treasured and not sold the next day. The rest could be sold and the money go to a good cause.

[Lew]

Hi All

My son has already told me which pieces he would like but he does not want everthing I collect. Some things will be sold and others I intend to donate to some of the colleges and universities in my area that have an anthropology and tribal studies dept. Colleges appreciate these types of gifts more than the larger museums and can put them to better use. I have heard that museums like the Metropolitan museum in N.Y.C. only displays 10% of what they have and the rest it packed away in crates down in the storage rooms.


Lew

[RSWORD]

Over the years I have come to appreciate many mentors and old time collectors that enjoyed items for 40-50 years and because of my enthusiasm and interest in edged weapons I was fortunate to have one or two of those old time collectors sell me bits and pieces of their collection. Thus the cycle continues. I hope to enjoy another 20-30 years of collecting and then identify that one or two individuals with a true passion for these important cultural and historical items. I think the one matching themes in all of our wishes is to see that our collections go somewhere where they will be appreciated. As it is getting harder and harder to find good items, I don't want to contribute to the drying up of these important items but rather do my job of appreciating, maintaining and learning as much as I can about each piece and then pass that along to the next generation to hopefully continue the cycle.

[nechesh]

Well, as i have no children (and don't plan any) i think my plan would be a combination of Lew's and Rick's (rsword) plans. I think Lew is right that the right university might treasure such a collection while the Met would only stick them in a draw in the back room. There are also much smaller museums than the Met that might find interest, but i think my first choice would be to find a young and truly interested collector, one who would take at least as much time and considerstion in passing his collection on as i will about mine.
Either that or i will pile it all up with my body in a viking boat and set it adrift on fire!

[Lew]

[QUOTE=nechesh]Well, as i have no children (and don't plan any)

Nechesh

You can always adopt me!


Lew

[nechesh]

Aaah, Lew, that's so sweet......did i mention that i plan on taking all my family and servants along on my final Viking funeral sailing expedition?

[Lew]

Originally Posted by nechesh

Aaah, Lew, that's so sweet......did i mention that i plan on taking all my family and servants along on my final Viking funeral sailing expedition?

Nechesh

That's great which cruise liner will it be NCL, Royal Carribbean or Celebrity?
I'm sure the captain will lend us a dingy for you when it's time for your final voyage

Lew

[kronckew]

What's gonna happen to your collection?
arrgh! there was a auction series on tv lunchtime called 'cash in the attick' where someone calls in & sets a target for something, an amount for they want to do, like today's 'take flying lessons'. the tv channel films them and an antiques expert as they rummage thru the house looking for stuff to auction off.

today there was a retired lady who husband had died, they came up with the usual silverware, antique pictures, pottery, etc. when she remembered an old box of junk from her husbands collections that he'd had proudly displayed on the wall. she'd taken them down, put them in an old wooden box by the garden shed & forgot them, after all they were just a few old swords and knives,too martial for a proper english working class home.

the presenter had a good rummage, i saw a few victorian officers swords & sabres, a silver hilted shamshir in a decorated scabbard, at least two 19c kukhris, and more arabic,russian, japanese, and oriental swords and knives , all rusting away nicely in the english weather, the presenter took one out waved it about and said how wonderful it's engraving was as he stabbed it into the lawn & left it quivering upright.

anyway, they sold the stuff at a general auction (not even a specialist one), the other stuff, except for a mini-mosaic painting, went for estimate or under, then the weapons came up, they were sold in 3 lots, and went for a total of over three times the 'experts' estimate, well over a couple thousand pounds.

the moral is let your family know about the value of your collection - had this woman not thought they were just junk, she might not have had them out in the garden rusting away & had the 'antiques' expert not cavalierly underestimated their worth while abusing them & had put them in a proper specialist auction as individual items, she might have recieved two or three times that. - and the new owner would have got to enjoy them in better condition for when he passes them on.

[VANDOO]

NECHESH YOU AND I THINK ALIKE, I WAS CONSIDERING THE VIKING TRIP TO VALHALLA WITH MY SWORDS AS WELL

WHAT I WILL DO IS A COMBINATION OF THE ABOVE PLANS WHILE MY CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN MAY WANT ONE ITEM TO REMEMBER ME BY AND THAT MAY NOT BE A WEAPON MOST WILL BE SOLD. IF THERE WERE A MUSEUM THAT WAS DEDICATED TO THE TYPES OF WEAPONS I HAVE AND WOULD MAKE USE OF THEM FOR DISPLAY OR TO FORM AN IMPORTANT REFRENCE COLLECTION I WOULD HELP THEM SET IT UP. UNFORTUNATELY I KNOW OF NO SUCH MUSEUM IF I HAD A HISTORICALLY IMPORTANT ITEM IN MY COLLECTION I WOULD CONTACT THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AND SEE IF THEY WERE INTRESTED IN GETTING IT AND DISPLAYING IT THERE. UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN MY COLLECTIONS. GIVEN THE MUSEUMS DRIFT TO POLITICAL CORRECTNESS I DON'T SEE MUCH FUTURE FOR WEAPONS,STONE ARTEFACTS, BUGS,SHELLS OR OTHER COLLECTIONS FROM NATURE BEING DISPLAYED IN FUTURE. THAT WOULD BE GLORIFING WAR AND VILONCE OR THE RAPE OF NATURE ACCORDING TO THE PRESENT ACADEMIC AND PRESS INDOCTRINATIONS. SO THE ONLY WAY MUSEUMS MIGHT GET SOME OF MY COLLECTIONS WOULD BE IF THEY BUY THEM OR IF THINGS CHANGE EITHER OF WHICH I DOUBT WILL HAPPEN.

I PREFER TO LET ITEMS GO TO COLLECTORS WHO TRULY APPRECIATE THEM AND SPECIALIZE AND STUDY A PARTICULAR TYPE. THE LESS EXPENSIVE EXAMPLES WILL PROBABLY GO TO THE BEGINNING COLLECTORS TO HELP THEM GET STARTED AND BUILD THEIR EXPERIENCE, INTREST AND COLLECTIONS. IN MY AREA THERE DOSEN'T SEEM TO BE ANY UPCOMING COLLECTORS SO SELLING ETHINOGRAPHIC WEAPONS AT A GUN SHOW HERE WOULD BE A WASTE OF TIME AS ONLY EBAY DEALERS WOULD BUY. IF IT IS GOING THE EBAY ROUTE I WOULD RATHER DO IT MYSELF SO PERHAPS SOMEDAY I MAY BECOME A, "SHUDDER" EBAY DEALER

[BSMStar]

Originally Posted by nechesh

Well, as i have no children (and don't plan any)

Daddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!