perizie@marcozaia.net
By Andrea Romano Bonetti
For a long time, the weapons of the past have aroused interest in the field of collecting, coming to occupy their own small space in the antiques market of every culture and latitude. In the Western world, already in ancient times, we know that relics of past battles were preserved and displayed with celebratory intent in private residences and public places of worship. This custom also remained in the following centuries, since there are many reports documenting weapons deposited in churches, castles and arsenals of the old continent with the function of ex-votos or war prizes, sometimes simply exhibited as objects of ostentation to recall a glorious past. However, we had to wait until the second half of the 16th century before we heard of individuals dedicated to collecting such objects according to a method and criteria of taste. From here the step towards starting a trend was short and within a few decades many noble homes soon showed off single walls or entire halls embellished with armour, sidearms and firearms, alongside other works of the figurative and plastic arts.
With the decline of the aristocratic elites and the advent of the contemporary age, the new wealthy classes that arose from industrial development would continue this collecting tradition, sometimes spending staggering sums to secure the most prestigious specimens and the works of the master gunsmiths of the past. From this period, for example, the purchases of the American magnate William Randolph Hearst remain memorable, who, in 1930, spent the astronomical sum of sixty thousand dollars for a piece of German armor from the end of the 15th century.
Curiously, but due to the inevitable effect of the courses and recurrences of history, even the vast war production that characterized the era between the nineteenth century and the last world wars ended up becoming an object of collecting interest itself. The nostalgia and patriotic sentiment of many undoubtedly contributed to giving rise to and transmitting this new preference, although it is equally undeniable that some advantages contributed to its development, including the large number of former ordinance weapons on the market and their often lower cost compared to pre-19th century material, both circumstances which were favored by the mass well-being known after the 1960s. It is not superfluous to remember that the same form of collecting also gave rise to a passion for everything that complemented modern armies, a phenomenon to which the name militia was given. Uniforms or simple accessories such as honours, friezes or buttons, private or ordinance objects, documents, prints, paintings, flags or models, in short, every memory that in itself contains suggestions of a military past arouses interest and attracts, not excluding equipment of more recent use, such as that used by US troops during military interventions in South-East Asia.
The growing spread of both more traditional arms collecting and militia has also had as a natural consequence the creation of new professional figures, new auction houses and the birth of thematic fairs, but above all the establishment of one of the most specialized and varied trades in the antiques sector. Many of the retailers nowadays carry out their business with a composite and differentiated offer, some of them even qualifying themselves in the sale of accurate replicas, others instead preferring objects exclusively linked to distinct historical moments, such as for example the era of French Grandeur, the Germanic militaristic period, the Italian Risorgimento, the two world wars, or the offensive and defense materials used in ancient Japan and that of the imperial period.
With modernization and commercial growth, some factors and methods that determine the valuation of objects have also changed. In fact, while the practice of attributing a value on the basis of age, rarity and state of conservation of an artefact has remained consolidated since the time of the nineteenth-century connoisseur, the important parameter determined by the supply-demand relationship is today experiencing a profound and continuous modification, in particular due to the action of new cultural influences and the emergence of increasingly diversified tastes. Furthermore, compared to the past, the introduction of new multimedia technologies has also made occasional sellers and buyers protagonists who, with the proliferation of online sales platforms made available to them, contribute to a large extent to reducing the market value of medium-low cost objects.
Therefore, thanks to the predominant presence of the Web, the many transactions conducted online have ended up taking away profit margins from professionals in the sector and sometimes giving greater value to objects that were once debased because they were produced on a large scale. Among the types that have seen their demand skyrocket in recent years are firearms with flintlock or percussion triggers (whether breech-loading or muzzle-loading), bayonets of every chronological horizon: from the first “buffer” types up to the most recent ones equipped with quick coupling, but also weapons for civilian use, including the very widespread drum pistols which used ammunition patented by the Frenchman Lefaucheux, better known in our country as “pin” cartridges. Tribal sidearms or those from distant exotic realities are equally fortunate, many of which were protagonists of the colonial history of some European states. Thus the Guradè, the Sief, the Shotel of the Horn of Africa, the Indonesian Kriss, Pedang and Klewang, but also the Tulwar, Khanda, Filangi, Thenga, Katar of the Indian subcontinent, not to mention the myriad of ethnic types and variants once in use in sub-Saharan Africa and the rest of Asia.
It goes without saying that the influx of many of these objects onto the antiques market and the growing demand from collectors have stimulated the development of a fake manufacture in the West, once established and lively only in the areas of the East affected by mass tourism. Recognizing an antiqued replica is not always easy, also due to the counterfeiting techniques refined by experience. In recent years, true masters of manipulation and sophistication are demonstrating skills on materials rarely achieved in the past, managing to recreate volumes, shapes and patinas that give a “lived-in” appearance almost similar to the authentic piece. Fortunately, large or small ingenuity on the part of these creators, be they constructive, stylistic or committed during the aging process, are always present and often due to variables such as time and costs, which cannot be ignored. In the continuous comparison between those who create artefacts and those called upon to unmask them, the latter category is always rewarded, for the benefit of which technology has made cutting-edge analysis tools available.
Finally, the behavior of some commercial operators in the sector is to be deplored, as they too often agree to cyclically include showy but dubious pieces in their sales, in an attempt to thus attract the attention of less astute and savvy buyers. This practice, however, in the long run only results in the decline of the consolidated image and the relationship of trust built over the years with customers.
In Italy the ownership, enjoyment, possession and transport of almost every type of weapon are regulated by dense and complex legislation which often disorientates those who, after a discovery in the attic, an unexpected inheritance or wishing to get closer to collecting, come into possession of these objects and want to know the laws and duties to which they must comply. Although there are many types of weapons and their field of application is varied, it is possible to consider firearms or shotguns and so-called “blank” weapons (edged, pointed, shot, etc.) as the collector’s usual interests. In the legislator’s classification, the first can be war, common, hunting or sporting and, finally, ancient. With the exception of a few exceptions, firearms intended for war and in working order are for obvious reasons prohibited to collectors and anyone who accidentally finds one is asked to report its presence to the public security authorities as soon as possible. Common firearms, whether hunting, sporting or intended for personal defense (including some compressed air), can be possessed after obtaining a specific license from the Ministry of the Interior and having reported them to the Police or Carabinieri. Similarly, bladed weapons considered to be one’s own, i.e. capable of offending, whether they are ancient or not, are subject to the obligation to report and possess a license. Assuming that the majority of collectors are oriented towards weapons classified as antique, it becomes useful to add that the legislation of our country wanted to consider as such only muzzle-loading weapons and the remaining types manufactured before 1890, including sidearms. All those who intend to collect more than eight ancient, artistic or rare weapons are obliged to possess a specific license for this type, while those who find themselves in the position of possessing a smaller number are only required to report the objects to the local public security office or to the police headquarters where they reside. Furthermore, those who wish to transport individual pieces or entire collections within the national territory are required to notify the same authorities. A brief clarification is due regarding the concept of artistic and rare weapons of historical importance. According to the law, the former “present decorative characteristics of notable value or are created by particularly well-known craftsmen”, while the latter “are found in limited numbers or are connected to characters or events of historical-cultural relevance”.
