recognized. Ten years subsequent to this exhibition at the Paris dealer's we saw the Gothic half suit, which we have described, in a well-known collection in America; where also figured a bascinet helmet from the same source which purported to be of the early part of the XIVth century, a helmet almost impudent in its elaboration (Fig. 1571). One of these faked swords is in the National Museum of Belgium, the Porte de Hal (Fig. 1572); whilst we have recognized a helmet here, and a dagger or sword there, in various private collections in England and on the Continent.
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Fig. 1572. Sword of the XIVth century
A Paris forgery of the end of the XIXth century. Collection: Porte de Hal, Brussels
Of the purchase by experts of certain specimens of this particular series of forgeries, because they closely followed the description of some similar weapon in an existing XIVth or XVth century inventory, and because they were thought to be possibly the actual weapons described, amusing tales could be told. But such stories are only to be related by word of mouth when collectors meet to describe in a friendly chat their own marvellous insight and the rare occasions when they have been at fault. The author's one desire is that those true examples of the armourer's art which have been handed down to us from the past should be distinguished from spurious examples. He knows no one who has been so enthusiastic as himself over a newly acquired piece of armour which he has subsequently realized to be a forgery of the most impudent character. If he has sometimes smiled at the misfortunes of others, he has more often laughed at his own mistakes, and his own mistakes have often been costly ones. The author would add one remark—Readers of this chapter may think that forgeries can with reasonable experience be detected at once. This is so as regards suits of armour, but as regards small individual pieces worked up from old pieces of steel, or small decorated specimens, it is not difficult to deceive even a man of long and varied experience with the "flair," and without this last qualification the collector stands no chance whatever. The difficulty of imitating a suit of armour (not copying an old suit) is that every plate was shaped for a reason, the knowledge of which being part of the art of the armourer. The armourer fitted the armour to the wearer, worked on it from wax models of
