Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 25, 2011 15:54:16 GMT
So, The Museé de Cluny (The French National Museum of the Middle Ages) is hosting a special exhibition on the sword this summer, from April 28 to September 26, 2011. More info and whatnot here: www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic ... highlight= As many know, I was just in London for 4 weeks for an independent study course, and while I was there I was lucky enough to snag some train tickets to Paris one weekend to check out the swordly goodness. I took a bunch of pictures, and here they are. :lol: I really enjoyed the exhibition. It wasn't enormous, and I don't think there's a lot of information there that fans of the sword aren't already familiar with, but the simple opportunity to look at such nice antique pieces up close and in person was absolutely extraordinary. For an entree fee of €8.00 it's more than worth it to check it out if you are nearby this summer. Anyway, here's pictures! The hallway towards the exhibition The main room and display cases: And now for some swords! A highly corroded but beautifully crafted Venetian sword: Shot of a lovely blade inlay; I can't seem to find an image of the hilt, though :oops: A wall display of Oakeshott's typology. With some example swords nearby (something I haven't seen a museum include before, which was nice to see). ************************ That's all for now. I have quite a few more photos, hard to keep track of them in one giant post, so I'll break it up.
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 25, 2011 15:57:26 GMT
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Post by William Swiger on May 25, 2011 16:44:20 GMT
Cool pics man. I need to get over there sometime from Germany!!
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ChrisA
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Post by ChrisA on May 25, 2011 16:59:19 GMT
Awesome pictures! Keep em coming! Thanks Zach.
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Sean (Shadowhowler)
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Post by Sean (Shadowhowler) on May 25, 2011 17:23:20 GMT
Massive cool man... so jealous... I hope to get the chance to travel about as you have done someday. I've been all over this country... but very limited overseas travel.
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 25, 2011 17:29:20 GMT
Thanks, guys, glad to share. Sean, I'm really grateful to be able to adventure around this way--only recently have gone abroad, and haven't really traveled much in the states other than some places in the west. I'm embracing the opportunity while I have it. Here's some more pics! Now for some of the big-hitters. First, the star of the show---the 15th century longsword that calls the Cluny home. It was displayed above the fight books, presumably as an example of the best kind of tool to use for the task. I wouldn't disagree. Phenomenal Sword. And over in the giftshop, they had a familiar face from a familiar manufacturer. The recently debuted Albion Museum Line Cluny Sword. Couldn't get a full length shot, so I stitched one together from several close-ups. I was making a fuss over the sword in the display case, and one of the workers at the shop came over to ask if I needed anything. I made vague gestures with my camera at the sword (as I don't speak a word of French, nor he a word of English) as if to say, "Oh, I'm just taking some pictures." Imagine my surprise when he marched over to grab some keys, unlocked the door and HANDED ME THE BOX. :eek: I was flabbergasted. I barely remember taking these next two photos, so focused was I on looking at the sword up close. The details were beautiful and crisp, the imprinted grip lines deeper than I'd seen before. The grip is just long enough for two hands and very thin. It looks to be a viciously fast sword, and I love the restored full "rain guard," rather than the flaps now present on the antique sword after the first rainguard was removed. (There was a bit of dust--I think sawdust--on the blade, that's what's visible in the second picture, not staining of any kind) Were I in a bolder mood I might have tried to sign my way into getting the box open so I could dry-handle the sword, but that seemed to be a bit much at the time, as I had no intentions of buying the piece. Or worse, if I had gotten my hands on it I might not have been able to leave without it, and my bank would probably lock my account if a sudden €2600 charge appeared on my statement! :lol: At any rate, the recreation does justice to the original. Magnificent stuff. Also present was the sword of Svante Nilsson Sture. The glare was unbearable in this area, so only these two shots came out: The Sword of St. Maurice of Turin. In astoundingly good condition for a sword from the 13th century. Glare is again my enemy, but I tried to get some shots that show how well preserved the weapon is. The scabbard. Note the stitching along the edge, rather than up the back.
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Post by Lancelot Chan on May 25, 2011 17:31:32 GMT
Thanks for sharing these pics for those of us who cannot attend. Thanks a lot and I look forward seeing more!
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Talon
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Post by Talon on May 25, 2011 17:52:38 GMT
exellent post luna ,i think ill nip over in the summer and have a look myself
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Post by wnydel on May 25, 2011 18:16:24 GMT
Wow. This is incredible. I recently went to a Chronicles of Narnia exhibit at the local science museum. They had swords and armor that was actually used in the movie, but would not allow photos but that exhibit paled in comparison to this. This is really amazing.
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 25, 2011 18:23:38 GMT
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Post by William Swiger on May 25, 2011 18:34:46 GMT
The Maurice Sword looks in really good condition. Thanks for the pics!!
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Post by chopper on May 25, 2011 18:46:25 GMT
Awesome pics! Thanks for posting those.
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 25, 2011 18:48:09 GMT
No problem, guys! And these are only the first--I've got photos from the V&A, the Wallace Collection, the Tower of London, and the British Museum to share soon.
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 25, 2011 19:02:50 GMT
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Post by william m on May 25, 2011 19:34:19 GMT
Wow excellent shots, thank you for sharing! Do you know if this is an on-going exhibition? If so then I feel an impromptu visit to French relatives in Paris!!
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 25, 2011 19:36:06 GMT
No problem! The exhibition is running until September 26.
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Post by william m on May 25, 2011 19:42:10 GMT
Thanks Lunaman! Just now I re-read your original post and saw the date.. whoops! I was in too much of a rush going through all the shots!
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Post by Federico on May 25, 2011 19:48:40 GMT
I'm surprised by the extent of the hollow grinding on that hand a half sword. Big BIG ridge in the center!
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Lunaman
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Post by Lunaman on May 25, 2011 21:01:59 GMT
@fredrico, yea, that ridge is intense. It was about a half-inch thick near the guard! **************************************************************** The last shots I have from this exhibit are from the area where I spent the most time. They had a lovely Albion Yeoman available for people to play around with there! The sword was retained by a cable around the pommel that had a generous length, and you could reach your arm through the plexiglass "access port" to swing it around freely in a little padded room. This clever setup allowed for a pretty large range of motion without putting the user or bystanders in any danger. I'm really glad this was available, because I think letting people feel the weight of a good sword in-hand is a great way to dispel a lot of myths about medieval swords. It also let me get a bit of my swording fix, as all my own sword were thousands of miles away for the whole month. :lol: I loved this little area, and I love the way the Yeoman handles (a great pick to show that a robust blade can still be very agile, and it just begs to be swung around) BUT I felt a bit bad for the sword. The exhibition had only been open a week or two and the grip was already showing some wear, with the seam starting to peel back. More alarming, though, was the blade surface. I had forgotten this fact in my years of collecting, but here was evidence again that people just cannot resist touching blades when they come across a sword. :? It drives me nuts. The blade was covered in fingerprints, which can be dealt with, but it looked as if the blade had not been cleaned of these during its time there. Some had developed into active staining. This doesn't have to be the fate of "hands-on" swords if they receive proper maintenance. For instance, I had seen a couple of Albion Gaddhjalt swords in an exhibit at the Tower of London a few days earlier that were in fine shape, despite being open to touch from hundreds of visitors each day (these were also blunted and locked down). The Yeomen just needed to be cleaned an oiled regularly. I attempted to explain this to anyone working at the exhibition, but the message couldn't quite make it across the language barrier. If anybody here visits and has better French, maybe you could explain? Anyway, I had a great time at the Cluny, and I'm glad I was able to show here some of what I saw there. Thanks for looking!
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Post by gerbopyl on May 26, 2011 0:59:53 GMT
Thanks for posting these! Im incredibly jealous you got to handle the yeoman its a sword I want but cant quite convince the wife its worth the money.
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