This cavalier attitude in dismissing items as
fake is as dangerous as the naive attitude of accepting everything as genuine.
First, I have nothing to say on the
lamp itself as I don't know the
type or know enough about them to know the signs of genuine versus
fake. My comments are more general.
The idea that you can only accept an item is genuine if you see it brought out of the ground with your own eyes is nonsense, and in fact dangerous. This is to dismiss the entire market and hundreds of honest and knowledgeable dealers world wide. The dealers most of the world buys from do not take items directly out of the ground, and excavators, whether legal or not, do not take buyers along to watch. Responsible buyers should be seeking items with providence not seeking items excavated before their eyes.
Determining genuine vs.
fake is about facts. It is about assessing objects against the characteristics of known genuine items. It is about experience in seeing, and preferably handling, genuine items and learning to detect their
style,
fabric,
weight, size, patinas, etc. I agree with what Joe said on the
quality of
fakes. In the vast majority of cases this is very easy once you have the basic knowledge. The kind of
fakes that fool experts or need scientific tests to determine authenticity are not what you see in the tourist markets and places. What you see are many items that might look interesting to a novice (and we are all novices outside our areas of knowledge) but that wouldn't fool anyone with any experience.
The "story" of the piece (its metadata if you would like) can definitely give important clues regarding possible authenticity - who is
selling it, where are you/they, what else do they sell, what is their story for the item - but those alone are never enough to decide if it is
fake or not. I agree that there are many "
red flags" or warning signs. "I bought this lamp/coin from a guy at the main gate at
Jerash" is always a warning sign and is usually followed by a finding of
fake. But the important point I am trying to make is that that fact alone is not enough evidence.
Just to take the two extremes of the spectrum of possibilities, even items that are taken directly from the ground or sea can be
fake. There is a small but known practice of seeding fields or diving spots with items for (usually amateur) detectorists or divers to find. Likewise, even items from very well known and respected dealers can be
fake. The only really decisive evidence is the item itself.
Almost everywhere I have seen masses of
fakes for sale -
Egypt, Lebanon,
Israel, Jordan,
West Bank, former Yugoslavia,
Hungary, and some markets in Europe and the US - I have also found some genuine items.
Would I advise someone to buy from these guys - no.
But would I automatically dismiss something bought from them as
fake - no. I would examine it first.
Shawn
