Featured Fake antiquities warning sites.

It is sad that just about everything is faked these days. I have even seen in my own field of edged weapons, a WWII British No. 4 'Spike' bayonet, probably made in India or China, but with all the relevant stamps etc. Genuine examples are perhaps $30 -$35. And with over 5.5 million originals being made, they are not, on the whole, scarce. Is it worth it, well obviously, somebody thinks it is.......

 

It is strange that even relatively low value items are faked. It seems no field of collecting is safe.

 

These days......those days.......olden times....... copies , fakes and reproductions of authentic items know no time line...

I've listed carvings on Ebay.. ( & bought authentic works )......months later , same carving....newly made , shows up for sale .....as a rare find !!!!!!!!!!

 

OMG. It’s so funny I came upon this seller yesterday totally independent of this thread. Now seeing your comment. I attempted to report the seller as fraudulent but the method I tried there was no option for outright misrepresentation of items. I quit my attempt which is prob what many people do. What utter shit they sell and what a funny and long attempt to cover their asses they make. I saw one lot that looked like some real average metal detecting junk mixed in, with every other listing appearing to be fake. I didn’t even check the lot I mentioned but it looked legit from the main photo. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was fake too though.

 

A handful of years ago I had to communicate with this organization in the matter of a cameo being represented as Victorian that I recognized as the work of someone who is active today. After defensively telling me the consignor was a well respected collector, they reviewed the evidence & came back with:

After investigating this further, we have determined that the piece is not Victorian and will be returning it to its current owner. Thank you for your informative note.

To their credit, they were willing to admit they were wrong.

 

a well respected collector...... vs............ our top dawg

winner............. Bronwen !!!!!!

yippee!!!!!!!!

 

Ever since first seeing this guy's listings on eBay I have worried that his work would slip on to the secondary market without provenance attached & be mistaken for Victorian or older. His own descriptions were slippery, giving the impression that pieces were ancient, from the collection of a prominent Swiss family.

 

there a NWC NA art guy like that.....his stuff is all fake......I loath him..

 

As an armour and edged weapons enthusiast and collector, I like weapons of all periods, and was fortunate to acquire a small collection of Stone Age tools and weapons from an old established collection in Denmark, where such items are quite common. I usually collect more modern items and do not collect these as such, but they came my way and are interesting and thought provoking items to have around.
Unfortunately, the fakers are also making these and flint tools etc., and again these can easily be found on fleabay. How on earth does one tell a genuine Stone Age tool or a native American Indian flint arrow head from a modern made one?
I am lucky, I have a few, and I know where they came from, and I am happy with them, but anybody wishing to add such items to a collection now would need to be very careful.

 

To add to my earlier post about cheap fakes and repro's. This I found on the web earlier...........


A Russian 1891/30 Moisin Nagant bayonet......fake, made in India!


and here is one of my originals (in the middle)...


I am not sure of the cost of this repro, but originals are plentiful and cost from about $30 ! Why bother??
The particular company who made this repro are not selling them as original, but others are, and they are finding their way into a lot of auctions too, usually in bundles of five.
Nothing is safe it seems from the fakers, no matter how small or insignificant.

 

is the one you have readily available for a collector who has the rifle but not the bayonet?

 

I am building up my collection of the different factories that made these, so unfortunately not. But, have a word with Otto, here:

https://www.ebayonet.com/bayonetsn_s.htm

Check under Russia and the Soviet Union, Otto has quite a few for sale from $30 upwards! He can certainly help you.

The three basic types in my picture, are the original 1891 pattern, with the locking ring (bottom), the 1891/30 with a spring catch, used during WWII (centre) and an 1891/30 'Panshin', with the sight hood (top). This last one is quite scarce, but the other two easily available. Otto's are all guaranteed genuine!

Any problems, just let me know.........

 

Interesting find on the British Museum website, the forgeries in their collection:

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/x45983

(Click on "related objects" to see the items)
No doubt all (or most?) acquired in good faith. Over time more research led to more correct identifications, including forgeries. Which only goes to show how difficult identification can be.
These are not only items once thought to be from antiquity, but they cover forgeries in the entire collection.

Very good of them to show these forgeries on their site so we can all learn from them.

 

The Royal Armouries also have a section on forgeries. There were a few unscrupulous dealers in the 19th century, who catered for the growing interest in ancient armour, and the RA have some of these, now on show and of interest in their own right. Given our knowledge today, they wouldn't for the most part, fool anybody, but back then..........
The British Museum of course have a few famous crystal skulls in their possession.

 

Even the fakes can be fun. Educational too ... and one more reason I stay the heck out of arms and armor and even mostly old tools. I don't think anyone fakes those, but you never know.

 

Speaking of antiquities, I bought some at an auction recently. They did not come with any paperwork (this auction house mostly does estate sales and house cleanouts). They look genuine but I've never owned anything like these. What do you think? Are they fakes? The Roman pottery is marked with numbers, possibly dates and also the towns they were found in, and one small bowl is marked with a a number and "Fernie Coll 1st Cent Exc at Winchester". The Greek statue on a stand has a label from a NYC antiquities dealer (I emailed them but all they said was it was an older piece from the 90s) and the bust (possibly Cybele?) has an old paper label with the number 2323.

 

1. Got me.
2. This thread is in itself an antique. You might have better luck starting a new thread in Pottery, so the potties can find it more easily.

 

Something to be aware of:

https://www.antiquers.com/threads/dangerous-chemicals-on-replicas.86310/

 

@David Knell 's page on fake Roman oil lamps:

https://ancient-heritage.blogspot.com/2018/09/how-to-spot-fake-roman-lamps.html

Browse through his interesting blog, there is more info on fakes.