PROVENANCE, provenance, provenance. This collecting phrase might have much the same ring and price-boosting effect on antiques and collectables as property's much-quoted location, location, location' but, unlike the latter, it comes with various caveats. Before you start quibbling, today's brilliant location is not in itself a guarantee of future perfection, as all it takes is the tap of a planning officer's e-signature to transform a location' plus into a blighted minus as a new road or housing development is plonked outside your back door. But try as sellers might to obfuscate and dissemble in their sales particulars, it is blinking obvious come viewing day if a property is in a great location, and worth a lot more, or not.
Provenances can be more complex, not least as the ungodly have been faking them to boost values for as long as they have been faking antiques themselves. The ancient Greeks merrily carved statues purportedly made by even more ancient Greeks to sell to their new Roman masters. I can picture an ancient Roman Del Boy cheerfully 'up-pricing' a bit of gaudy jewellery to a gullible-looking customer: "Honest guv, this was taken off that strumpet Cleopatra's body just after the snake got her. My life on it! This knife was used to kill Caesar." And, after a couple of generations of repetition, risible tosh morphs into value-enhancing history.
That's the problem with some provenances: they can be infuriatingly difficult to verify and just as hard to disprove. And we want to believe them as we all love a great story. Collectors will happily pay to add multiple zeroes to the price because Eric Clapton (genuinely) played on this guitar at that concert. Or for that particular sword that was no ifs, no buts used at Waterloo. That is where I am taking you next.
Bu hikaye The Field dergisinin July 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Field dergisinin July 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Helping hot dogs chill out
From cool coats to clippers, there are a whole host of ways to keep your canine companion comfortable as the summer heat intensifies, says David Tomlinson
Art in the field
Sculpting his wild subjects from life, Fred Gordon is breaking new ground in bronze, says Janet Menzies
How to canapé
A summer celebration is nothing without these tiny works of art. Devised by the country's best canapé cooks, they are just the thing to make your party swing
Ginger-beer childhoods
Summer holidays filled with outdoor adventures are the perfect way to foster a love of the countryside and a lifetime enthusiasm for the field
Glamour, intelligence and drive as standard
Retrieving birds with pace, energy and undeniable elan, these sporting poodles are winning over even traditional gundog breed enthusiasts
The cycle begins
Though it may lie forgotten for much of the year, the kennel bicycle is indispensable in summer when hound exercise gets under way
Turning the tide on the Tyne
The industrial age brought prosperity to Newcastle but at great cost to the Tyne and its salmon. Today its waters are a haven for fish and anglers alike
En garde: a guide to fencing
Not just a clash of swords and some fancy footwork, this ancient sport is an art form that demands agility, discipline and control
Who was Baron Pierre de Coubertin?
It was a diminutive, 19th-century French aristocrat, Baron Pierre de Coubertin (pictured, left), who came up with the idea of reviving the Olympic Games while studying in Paris. He was a sporting sort himself, and had also long despaired of what he perceived as French degeneracy; his country had been humiliated by the loss of the Franco-Prussian War and he attributed this to his countrymen's lack of moral fibre.
A gold-medal guide to Olympic shooting
Everything you need to know, from history, disciplines, rules and regulations to the British sportsmen and women striving for glory
