I was wondering what opinions I might get here regarding the authenticity of this piece. I have gotten conflicting advice on it, and every time I settle my opinion new evidence makes me question it. It is a bust, probably used as a steelyard weight (similarly designed ones are common, and there is a hole within the crest of the helmet) depicting Minerva or Mars, supposedly of British origin.
However, since I acquired it numerous identical examples have appeared, usually showing mushy features, severe casting flaws, and/or obviously fake patinas. A much more convicting piece, but still identical, was sold by TimeLine Auctions. Many similar objects (although not of the same mould) can be found from documented Roman contexts.
Mine does not exhibit the poor casting or (to my eyes) obviously fake patinas of some of the fakes, but the fact that they are duplicates makes it highly questionable. At the same time, it is not entirely impossible that the fakes originated from an original, or that multiple authentic examples (such as the TimeLine example) could be cast from the same mould (such cases, though rare, can be found within the
Portable Antiquities Scheme).
Would anyone with more experience be willing to look at the patina and design and share their thoughts? I know what the answer probably is, but I want to be abundantly cautious, as well as to get as many examples of it out there as I can. I share an example of mine as received (dirty) and post-cleaning. The light patina on the chest and nose was not caused by cleaning, but was present beneath the dirt.
My example is ~4cm long, and weighs 17.03g (almost identical size to the TimeLine example, but a bit lighter).
Mine
Prior to cleaning:
After:
Patina close up: Timeline Auctions: Various bad fakes: