“To a museum professional ‘fake’ is the ultimate F-word,” and more than 40 percent of pre-Colombian pieces from Mesoamerica in museums and private collections are fakes, according to the authors of this informative and fast moving detective study. Systematically they describe various categories of forgery from bark-paper codices to crystal skulls to stone sculptures.
Forgery style is a fascinating part of this study. Simple copying is the most common type of forgery and the easiest to detect. The work of the original artist-forger is the most difficult to identify. A master can manipulate style and technique to create original interpretations of ancient art. If the artist uses ancient materials, his works are virtually impossible to detect.
While the techniques and the mediums vary, they all have some things in common. All fakes lack provenance, consequently antiquities dealers often resort to fanciful stories and half-truths to create legitimacy. The processes of making the fakes is described in detail, and there are biographies of several of the forgers, who describe their craft and how they fool connoisseurs and specialists. Many forgers take great pride in their work, and vanity is sometimes the cause of their downfall.
Authors Nancy L. Kelker, a pre-Columbian art historian, and Karen Bruhns, a Mesoamerican archaeologist, have produced a scholarly, yet entertaining study of one of antiquarianism’s seamiest sides. It’s a must read for museum professionals, collectors, and art historians.
