"Hathor" Egyptian oil lamp... yet another fake ? how can you tell ?

[tempogen]

Hi people.


I cam across this and i don't know what to make of it.

It is uncanny how much it looks EXACTLY like this one :  http://libraries.mercer.edu/repository/handle/10898/378

Any thoughts ?


Thank you very much 

[Strobilus]

Your link is to one of four lamps in an exhibition (weirdly entitled "Sex and Violence in the Ancient World: Gender, Sexuality, and Warfare from 2000 BC - 400 AD") at Mercer University, a private university in Georgia, USA. Here is a link to all four lamps: http://libraries.mercer.edu/repository/handle/10898/373/discover

Never ever trust the authenticity of items simply because they are being exhibited in a university. A degree in History very often has no bearing whatsoever on an ability to authenticate antiquities and, in this case, I can only shake my head in disbelief at the sheer gullibility of both the collectors who loaned the lamps and the curator who accepted the loan for their so-called exhibition.  

ALL FOUR of the four lamps are not only fakes; they are basic tourist-grade fakes that should not fool anyone.


I have no idea if the Roman coins in their exhibition are also fake or not. Perhaps someone here could shed some light?
http://libraries.mercer.edu/repository/handle/10898/393

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The fake "Hathor Type" lamp is also included in another exhibition (named "The Divine Image in Everyday Life: Religion in the Ancient Near East") along with yet two more well-known fakes: http://libraries.mercer.edu/repository/handle/10898/96 At least one of them is recognisable as coming from a certain notorious dealer in NYC (http://www.sadighgallery.com/Oil-Lamps_p_36424.html).

But the collectors seem to have struck lucky with these: http://libraries.mercer.edu/repository/handle/10898/99

I suppose the law of averages dictates that even they can get it right occasionally! (Though what the four plain 'saucer' lamps have to do with the "Divine Image" is beyond me.)

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Sadly, the similarity of your own "Hathor Type" lamp to that in the exhibition is  not uncanny at all. These well-known fakes have been made since about 1870 and are still being made today. Over that time they have been produced in huge numbers and there has been some variation but they all share basic characteristics.


> how can you tell [these lamps are fake]?

The form, fabric, finish, handle, nozzle and decoration of "Hathor Type" lamps are an anachronistic mish-mash from different periods (no wonder dealers find them difficult to date!) and they bear no relation to any authentic lamp. Despite their massive abundance on eBay and elsewhere, not one single one of them has ever been found in an archaeological excavation (unsurprisingly!), and they are still being manufactured in enormous quantities to sell to gullible tourists today.

The "Hathor Type" fake has been classified as part of the "Upper Egypt Group of Fakes" by the British Museum (BMC, Q3463-5). There are two examples shown here (F3 and F4): http://www.romulus2.com/lamps/fakes/fakes1.shtml

[tempogen]

Strobilus, I love your reply. I collect antiques, particularly knives and fire arms, which i do not claim to be an expert on or anything, but they are at least easy to get information on. a guy who brings me random stuff sometimes brings me items that have been "dug up". i am always naturally curious about these finds, and i usually ignore his offers to sell. sometimes  coins and jewelery catch my eye, or perhaps a nice piece of pottery. BTW, i am in Tripoli / Libya, and this has been presumably excavated in the east, now i know better. unless someone in the 1800s decided to bury a fake lantern 

Really thank you for the info   

[Strobilus]

No worries, tempogen. I needed a laugh and those clueless "exhibitions" had me in stitches! 

[SC]

Wow.  That is sad about the exhibitions.

Another way to look at the "how can you tell its fake" question is to go by comparison with originals rather than to try to compile a list of exact attributes of a fake.

Strobilius has read hundreds of books and articles on lamps.  And the key here is not to look at books like "detectorists handbooks" or things like made by non-specialists but actual excavation reports or reports on reputable collection (i.e. British Museum).  In doing so Strobilius must have looked at thousands, or more likely tens of thousands, of images of genuine lamps. 

He might have to refer to a book to get an exact identification of genuine lamp.  But he knows from experience when one is just "wrong".

Hope this makes sense.

Shawn

[Strobilus]

Thanks for your kind words, Shawn. My inflated ego is now approaching the size of the Pacific Ocean! 

Another way to look at the "how can you tell its fake" question is to go by comparison with originals rather than to try to compile a list of exact attributes of a fake.

Indeed. Rather than proving an item is fake, the best approach is to prove it is authentic. That should be the mantra of every collector in whatever it is that they collect.

[tempogen]

Awesomeness all over this board... 


Thanks all for the input. i think i will never even look at a lamp again... have a look at this one " found at sea"

[benito]

These taken from the  seabed.

[Strobilus]

... have a look at this one " found at sea"

tempogen,
The photograph is too poor and the object is too featureless for me to hazard a meaningful comment. And I understand that the rule here is only one item per thread. 


Ramon,
I love the barnacle-encrusted pottery. So tactile! But not all pottery found under the sea looks like that.

[tempogen]

Strobilus, i will start a thread, last thing i want to do is break the rules. benito, beautiful things you have there, blistering barnacles . 

[benito]

Strobilus, i will start a thread, last thing i want to do is break the rules. benito, beautiful things you have there, blistering barnacles . 

You mean the amphorae. The three are reproductions.

[antoninus1]

...
I have no idea if the Roman coins in their exhibition are also fake or not. Perhaps someone here could shed some light?
http://libraries.mercer.edu/repository/handle/10898/393

Look at the 2 denarii of Septimius Severus. They are from identical obverse and reverse "dies" and have the same flan shape with the same rim defects.

So I would say at least they are cast fakes.