paul wood

Most unusual. Privately made fittings for Tamar are considerably rarer than the order itself. A wonderful acquisition. Certainly miniatures are as rare as rocking horse manure. Paul

Nice displays. Paul

The quality of the garters and their construction are exceptional. When the EB pieces are compared with them it is obvious which is fake. I also had the opportunity many years ago to handle a Garter piece in situ in Germany. The workmanship was such that even the fines photography could not do it justice. Paul

Sorry Should be Glyfadas. Dyslexia on my part.

It is a relatively modern commemorative issued by the Municipality of Glyfados. Certainly post 1960. Paul

I don't think it's uncle Ernst. Not good enough quality. Maybe to quote painting auction catalogues." School of EB" Paul

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Paul

Although not mobilised could he be a deskwallah involved in planning? Paul

Given he is a bandsman and was at Jutland around £200 would be a likely auction price Paul

Unless he was involved in the Naval planning of an anti-partisan offensive, that could explain the award. Paul

Looks more like the partisan insignia but how would he get it. Paul

I had a well known forger of early Portuguese awards challenge me to a duel after I cast doubts on the authenticity of his handiwork. Paul

I would expect that were Donitz to have been awarded a Mo and Laz it would have been a GC. The Savoy was awarded much more sparingly Paul

What appeared to be fault from my crappy phone is actually a shadow line on the reverse. Not sure what to think. Paul

I am 99.99% certain. Paul

EB would also acquire damaged or incomplete original orders in which parts would be added to his creations in order to give them a veneer of respecability a bit like antique furniture forgers. Paul

It's not Mo and Laz the points of the cross are the wrong shape definitely Savoy. Paul

There is a thin shadow on one of the limbs of the cross which suggests a thin split. The original crosses were made from Cumberland iron which was quite brittle and prone to splits. Most of the fakes the iron is too regular Paul

Not necessarily in a business sense?

I have managed to "unzip" the files. The fault in the iron is a good sign but the quality of the images are not sufficient to be absolutely certain. Paul

I agree, when one has the genuine article next to an EB offering one can see the difference and why the EB piece is not genuine, although many dealers and auction houses who should know better still offer them as the real McCOy. If one were ever to produce a definitive catalogue of the works of the late master it would be even more useful to have good illustrations of the original pieces along side. Many years ago EB tried to marry one of the Rothe daughters,without success however, had he succeeded imagine the beautiful "babies" created from the union. Paul

Ibelieve there was one in the other properties section of the King of Bulgaria auction. Sotheby's 1998 (as well as some nice Ottoman in the king'S collection. Paul

Thanks Tony Most of my interesting odds and sods have come via Pakistan. Paul

I suspect the Black Eagle is also EB, He had a great fondness for resurrecting the work of Godet. Paul

Do any of our French specialists know if there is a roll of the 1st Infantry at Mentana, would be nice to put a name to the cross. Paul