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Originally Posted by mahratt
Everything has already been written by colleagues on the forum  |
No, not really
I can only read speculations and no real knowledge. I can also begin to speculate, but I prefer to use some facts and not only accusations against auction houses: Between 1898 and 1914 Kiautschou Bay was a German leased territory in China. Many officials and soldiers brought their souvenirs to the German Empire after they came back home. In other countries with chinese colonies it was did in the same way.
These pieces were often stereotypically Chinese decorated, because this was what the European market wanted. Exotic decorations were "in fashion". Also the colonists often had much more money than the local Chinese people and were able to buy such things for higher prices in higher quantities.
As examples I added pictures of some teapots, vases and daggers which were such antique souvenirs in my opinion. They are all made of good quality and would be far to expensive for a modern souvenir. Also many of this pieces have authentic signs of age.
I think my thesis is much more realistic than the others here. If somebody can show me facts, not speculations, that can refute my words in a proper way, please do that.
If I search for "chinese silver daggers" on liveaustioneers, I can find a lot of touristic pieces. But also there are some much older pieces of good quality, which are recognizable because of the much higher price results.
Regards
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