jerryd

Wow! Thank you very much for the help, guys. I really appreciate all your input. David Einhorn: You mention that you would need photographs of the back of the work to see the forging marks. They are visible from the 12th photo all the way through to the pictures of the forks/skewers. Do the forging marks help date the item? Ten Hammers: Which parts appear to be steel on the work? Frank Turley: Thank you for your input. Is it your belief that the riveted cupped washer really may be an original piece? It certainly makes the entire ironwork look “off” and hasn’t aged as evenly as everything else. If that round washer piece is in fact original, it makes me question whether the ironwork is really 19th century and not an Art Deco piece as some of you said, though I’d like to believe the former, because it really does look stunning. Frankly, the comments from some of you that this piece could have been made yesterday concern me, but on the other hand, the main rack seems to be layered in dust that looks yellowish and old and that partly assuages my fears, because who would go through the trouble of adding that to make it look more authentic? I’ll have to give this some thought prior to placing a bid, though I'm leaning towards bidding on the item. Thanks again for all your help, folks!

Hello, I'm more of a collector than a blacksmith, and I was wondering if you guys can help me decide on the authenticity of this item as well as help answer a few other questions. It is stated as 19th century, but I want to be sure before I purchase it. One of the trim pieces does not seem to be original and is stated as such in the auction--would you guys have any idea when that piece could have been added based on the way it looks? How many man hours would this entire piece along with the skewers take? Any help is appreciated. Here is the link to the auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/19th-C-Spanish-Ironwork-HandForged-Utensil-Rack-2-Forks-/200626986297