Anthropology of Forgery. A Multidisciplinary Approach o the Study of Archaeological Fakes

The forgery of archaeological artefacts and works of art is an ancient and complex phenomenon, strictly connected to the history of discoveries and the history of collecting, to the development of the antiquities market, the progress in restoration techniques, and, lastly, to the history of archaeology and art criticism. What is the relationship between counterfeit, restoration, and reproduction of an object? How does this relationship change over time, and in relation to the place and the social and cultural context? What are the tools and methods for the authentication of an allegedly archaeological artefact? Can a fake become a historical tool useful to understand the history of taste and ideas? How may the currently rampant forgery be countered? Trying to answer these and other questions, this volume looks at the falsification of archaeological and art objects through the prism of several disciplines, with contributions of academics, administrators of the cultural heritage, and market professionals. It opens with a historical overview of restoration and reproduction methods between the 16th and 19th centuries, followed by a series of recent case studies that confirm the manifold nature of fakes and describe some authentication methods. The book continues with a collection of essays that aim to revaluate the fake object as a document for the history of culture, and it closes with some remarks on the legislation on counterfeiting and on the antiquities market. This volume is an interesting instrument to understand an extremely pressing, relevant phenomenon for cultural heritage, put in a historical perspective.