Dallas is home to the largest collection of samurai armor in the world

[QUOTE=gts][url]http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-ceo/2006/august/the-aristocrat[/url][/QUOTE]


Well hell, we got one of them there fancy Swiss aristocrat arty types right here in Charlotte too. Shit fire!


[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechtler_Museum_of_Modern_Art[/url]

[QUOTE=gts][url]http://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-ceo/2006/august/the-aristocrat[/url][/QUOTE]

Ah so he lives there for his work. That makes more sense.

[QUOTE=rufuspaul]Well hell, we got one of them there fancy Swiss aristocrat arty types right here in Charlotte too. Shit fire!


[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechtler_Museum_of_Modern_Art[/url][/QUOTE]
lol, seems like a strange coincidence

guess everyone from Switzerland is a billionaire art collector with a gun fetish that likes to lynch black folk in their spare time...

[QUOTE=-p.tiddy-]great find thanks...I wanted to know more about the guy, I just assumed he moved here because his wife is native to Dallas[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=kentatm]very interesting read

thanks for posting[/QUOTE]

No problem, I find this stuff interesting

Amazing collection

[QUOTE=LJJ]Ah so he lives there for his work. That makes more sense.[/QUOTE]
his family is loaded, article claims he choose to come here to continue real estate after visting here in the 70s on a museum tour

[QUOTE]Gabriel has loved Texas since the late

[QUOTE=-p.tiddy-]lol, seems like a strange coincidence

guess everyone from Switzerland is a billionaire art collector with a gun fetish that likes to lynch black folk in their spare time...[/QUOTE]


That's gotta be it. Too bad they're wasting all this great art on us toothless rednecks.

[QUOTE=-p.tiddy-]his family is loaded, article claims he choose to come here to continue real estate after visting here in the 70s on a museum tour[/QUOTE]

Exactly, he visited, saw the potential to make loads of real estate $$$ and decided to set up shop.

artile was written in 2006...he was building the Azure

the Azure is now built...

[IMG]http://www.buyandselldallas.com/images/dallas_highrise_condos/azure.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://pegasusnews.com/media/img/photos/2011/06/10/thumbs/Azure-balconey1-575x381.jpg.728x520_q85.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://texas.construction.com/images/0603_Azure.gif[/IMG]

[IMG]http://images.trulia.com/blogimg/f/f/a/2/1850706_1308766395036_b.jpg[/IMG]


^^^ samurai armor in the building

this guy is like our Bruce Wayne, he probably plays the role of some kind of samurai influenced super-hero at night...

Some gorgeous pieces in that collection.

A legit samurai helmet like one of those...I'd probably sell someone else's kid for one.

[QUOTE=Derka]Some gorgeous pieces in that collection.

A legit samurai helmet like one of those...I'd probably sell someone else's kid for one.[/QUOTE]
I am pretty curious as to what the average authentic samurai suit can fetch at an auction...I'm sure it's in the millions $

[QUOTE=-p.tiddy-]I am pretty curious as to what the average authentic samurai suit can fetch at an auction...I'm sure it's in the millions $[/QUOTE]

[URL="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2221017/Samurai-suit-worn-fearsome-5ft-tall-Japanese-warrior-woman-set-fetch-40-000-auction.html"]This price seems low [/URL]but its a 18th century suit

[URL="http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//RTV/2009/10/19/RTV2007809/"]This suit from 2009 article (first clip)[/URL] is also in the same price range (helmet 16th century). The swords seems to fetch more money.

I have a friend who works at Sotheby's in London, I,ll email her after work and ask her about the prices nowadays.

[QUOTE=moaz][URL="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2221017/Samurai-suit-worn-fearsome-5ft-tall-Japanese-warrior-woman-set-fetch-40-000-auction.html"]This price seems low [/URL]but its a 18th century suit

[URL="http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//RTV/2009/10/19/RTV2007809/"]This suit from 2009 article (first clip)[/URL] is also in the same price range (helmet 16th century). The swords seems to fetch more money.

I have a friend who works at Sotheby's in London, I,ll email her after work and ask her about the prices nowadays.[/QUOTE]
so much cheaper than I expected :/

I could see this stuff being a really great investment...

one of the things about these outfits though is that they are passed down from generation to generation, and certain parts are replaced and added on to while others are kept the same, so in a full suit of armor you could have a 15th century helmet, with 16th century accents, and 17th century lacing, etc

it's probably hard to gauge the origins of everything on a full outfit

[QUOTE=-p.tiddy-]so much cheaper than I expected :/

[B]I could see this stuff being a really great investment...[/B]

one of the things about these outfits though is that they are passed down from generation to generation, and certain parts are replaced and added on to while others are kept the same, so in a full suit of armor you could have a 15th century helmet, with 16th century accents, and 17th century lacing, etc

it's probably hard to gauge the origins of everything on a full outfit[/QUOTE]

I wouldn't say so.

The Japanese market isn't that strong as it was in 80s, and you wouldn't expect a huge change even if it recovers.

Investing in antiques isn't that easy anymore. In the past you anticipated which market is going to grow (means which economies are growing) and bought their stuff. That how some people made fortunes with Chinese and Russian art. 20 years ago I bought a 19th century Russian Physics book for about $65. Today, I could sell it for $500 (and books are the worst item to invest in).

The only countries where I think you still could have a profit chance are India, South east Asian countries and in some of the unstable Arabic countries. But for the first group you must have a lot of cash to begin anyway, and as for the Arab countries I have an ethical dilemma: The majority of the good deals were always made in Egypt, Iraq or Syria. Now all of these countries are in bad (Egypt), worst (Iraq) or hellish (Syria) shape. You'll buy stolen or looted items, or from people who would never have sold their possessions in normal circumstances but now they just want to survive.

Although I could (with some friends) go into a certain niche sector of the middle eastern antiques, we actually decided not to do it now. But I still think that we maybe set something for Egypt if the situation gets better there.

[QUOTE=LJJ]:biggums:

Why the hell would a rich guy from Switzerland choose to live in Texas?! You can't buy taste I suppose.[/QUOTE]
low taxes /end discussion

[url]http://www.giuseppepiva.com/index.php/en/armors/samurai-armor.html[/url]

^^^ place that sells authentic armors

it won't list a price though, you have to inquire about it

I am tempted to call and ask...might do that in a bit







samurai collectables are probably similar to WWII memorabilia in that prices can range drastically based on quality/time period/item type/etc etc etc