I read an article this morning on the SAFE website about a prominent Rhode Island surgeon and professor at Brown University, Dr. Weiss, who was arrested for trying to sell ancient Coins. Dr. Weiss pleaded guilty in July to attempted criminal possession of stolen property for trying to sell ancient Greek coins that he believed had been looted from Sicily. Well, it turns out, his prized authentic coins were, in fact, not so authentic after all. They were modern forgeries so well forged, that even experts could not tell, and were only revealed to be forgeries by using a scanning electron microscope.
All that I can really say in response to this article is: GOOD! Good that he got arrested and was convicted for trying to deal what he thought were stolen antiquities from Sicily. Good (great, actually) that they ended up not actually being artifacts but modern forgeries. Good that the people he sold them to paid a colossal amount of money for something fake (that'll teach them!), and good that this has inspired doubt in the mind of every collector about the authenticity of their collectibles.
The article states
If anyone is going to purchase antiquities (and I don't think that anyone should!) they should at least be from sound provenience and not from looted tombs. The way I see it, the more forgeries sold to collectors, the better! They can have their precious expensive replicas (which they don't know are replicas) and leave the real artifacts alone.
Yes, the problem this raises is that how will we then know what is real and what is fake? Most artifacts can be tested for authenticity, so should an artifact arrive at a Museum, it can then be tested.
Otherwise, let them have fakes!
I think I'd much rather have millons of fakes flying around, then thousands of artifacts looted from sites.
To read the full article, click here
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| Ancient Sicilian Coins |
All that I can really say in response to this article is: GOOD! Good that he got arrested and was convicted for trying to deal what he thought were stolen antiquities from Sicily. Good (great, actually) that they ended up not actually being artifacts but modern forgeries. Good that the people he sold them to paid a colossal amount of money for something fake (that'll teach them!), and good that this has inspired doubt in the mind of every collector about the authenticity of their collectibles.
The article states
"If experts who examined the coins at the request of the NYDA’s office were unable to determine the Weiss coins [as] forgeries, what hope do dealers, auctioneers, and collectors have when the next undocumented Greek or Roman coin with scant provenance and a six-figure price tag appears on the market? Will this case prompt coin dealers, auctioneers and collectors to agree that verifiable provenances and scientific testing are necessary for all coins above a certain price level [?]"If the article simply stated "...to agree that verifiable provenances are necessary for all artifacts" then I would be much happier.
If anyone is going to purchase antiquities (and I don't think that anyone should!) they should at least be from sound provenience and not from looted tombs. The way I see it, the more forgeries sold to collectors, the better! They can have their precious expensive replicas (which they don't know are replicas) and leave the real artifacts alone.
Yes, the problem this raises is that how will we then know what is real and what is fake? Most artifacts can be tested for authenticity, so should an artifact arrive at a Museum, it can then be tested.
Otherwise, let them have fakes!
I think I'd much rather have millons of fakes flying around, then thousands of artifacts looted from sites.
To read the full article, click here
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