Dear Barry,
We are happy that you enjoyed the
photos of our Turkmen.
However, seeing is believing! YOU MUST SEE
THE PIECE IN THE FLESH. Barbara and I would
love a visit from you which would enable you to
inspect it but also give you the opportunity to
see the rest of our collection.
The saga of its acquisition will
fascinate most collectors and illustrate my
contention that, in collecting the most important
factor is Lady Luck. NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU
KNOW, the overriding factor is to BE IN THE RIGHT
PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME.
It all began when I spotted an
unusual Salor(?) in an Austrian private museum
which was bought by Ferdie Besim and
became the stellar attraction at the Vienna
ICOC. He gave me 50,000 shillings as
commission, about $4,000. At this time, my
restorer's brother, who was a picker in London,
came to Vienna with the piece. I recognized
that it stemmed from 18th century and had FOUR
DIFFERENT MAIN GULS. To top it all, it was
in excellent condition. I bought it with my
commission. Later on, Dr. Thompson's
research revealed that the two tribes were
closely allied in that period. It should be
noted that that the aforementioned main gulls are
the earliest of these tribes.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
All the best from
Sam and Barbara
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