I’m writing these articles on how not to get ripped off because I see so much sketchy business in the online market space for antique magical objects and witchcraft tools. Understanding fake antiques, copies, & reproductions is step one for anyone on the hunt for mysterious old treasures….
The truth is it can be a bit of a jungle out there.
Even the most senior experts get caught out sometimes, including museums and the top auction houses in the world. We all make errors in this business, I mean all of us. So every novice buyer or collector is guaranteed to make some early mistakes, I guess the trick is to make sure they aren’t expensive ones.
When you first venture into buying antiques it’s a bit more complicated than just fake things versus real things, so we’ll start with some of the basics terms;
What is a Fake Antique?
A fake antique is one deliberately made or adapted to fool the buyer into believing it’s something other than it is.
There have been antique forgers at work for centuries. Dodgy relics of the true cross and saints finger bones were a rip-roaring trade for medieval fakers on the pilgrimage circuit. And they were not the first to get at it by a long shot.
Some fakes are made entirely from scratch using techniques to forge age and origin. Other fakes have some parts that are genuinely old mixed with new parts – to give the impression of an entire and original antique piece (this is not the same as a restored antique but at a certain point the lines can blur).
Some fakes are made up mostly of old parts – put together in a way that pretends they are a single authentic piece – this type of piece being frequently found in the world of antique furniture (as well as other places). These pieces can be really hard to spot because every part is actually antique. They are sometimes described as a ‘Marriage’, and if that’s the case they are no longer dishonest or fake because they’ve been honestly described as what they are…
Many common but authentically old pieces are adapted to make them appear rarer or more valuable by adding patterns, markings or extra parts. Sometimes these additions were made a hundered or more years ago, (like in the case of ‘clobbered’ china ware that had extra colours and markings added in the 19th century to make plainer wares seem more exotic) – these pieces too are a type of sham – if not quite actual fakes…
In the world of antique magical objects there also seems to be a special type of shifty dealing doing the rounds. I often see quite standard Victorian & Edwardian homewares being sold with entirely fictional magical or witchcraft descriptions. Some of these pieces have been adapted, most havent, but the descriptions being used to sell them are complete fantasy. The objects themselves are genuinely old , and if they havent been adapted in any way then they are perfectly good antique pieces, its only how they are being described that is shady. This shadiness does a dis-service to all of us who trade honestly in the marketplace.
Reproduction antiques
or ‘Repro’ as they are often called, are pieces honestly made as a replica of an original object. Some repros are painstakingly hand made and excellent quality, but they are not made like that to trick you, they are more pieces that seek to replicate the original without pretending to be it.
Some reproductions are antiques in their own right if they are over 100 years old. I occasionally find Victorian and Edwardian reproductions of ancient Roman or Greek oil lamps or Egyptian artefacts – many were honestly made and sold as souvenirs and are now antique, so they are not really fakes. Even if sometimes people mistake or misrepresent them for ancient pieces they generally were not made with the intention of deception.
Other repros are just cheap imitations, made with little effort and crappy materials. Often mass produced, flea markets are full to bursting with this type, and they’re pretty easy to spot even for beginners.
InThe Style Of… (or copies of)
‘Copies’ isn’t a very precise term in the antiques world, I’m using it here as short hand for ‘in the style of’- and its something we see a lot. In historic China it was common to create art in the style of a much earlier period, these pieces were really about honouring an earlier time and its master artisans and rulers.
Where a good reproduction tries to faithfully re-create an original piece, something made in the style of – is more about taking the overall flavour of a certain period as inspiration. There are several points in art history where this was so popular that it became a whole aesthetic movement – think Neoclassical, Gothic Revival, Egyptian Revival, and the Arts and Crafts Movement.
These pieces are honest but I include them here because when you’re just starting out it’s confusing, and mistakes can definitely be made. Its exciting finding something special, and once you can tell the difference between old and modern, but not yet tell how old a piece is, its easy to get carried away with your imagination!
Ive done it myself, we all have. For example some Gothic revival carved oak tracery panels are really beautiful and quite well aged, it would be so great to find a real one from the 15th century that our enthusiasm might get the better of our judgement. And before we know it we are talking ourselves into believing that something made in the 19th century Gothic Revival period is far older, because we really would like it to be true.
How Common Are Fake Antiques?
Most people would be astonished to see just what a huge business faking antiques is – seriously, it’s massive. I cant think of a single part of the trade doesn’t have fakes swilling about in it at some level.
And the things that I love and deal in – spiritual art, magical objects, artefacts from the mystical traditions of the world – are just as bad as the rest of the trade for having these shady pieces. In certain niches, like ancient Egyptian artefacts, fakes outnumber the real pieces by the thousands.
But rather than being alarmed by all this and quitting, i’d say just avoid spending any serious money until you are really sure of what you are doing, – and in the meantime learn as much as you can. A reputable dealer will always be straight with you if they are aware of any issues with a piece, and they will return your money and take a piece back if it turns out they’ve made a genuine mistake and inadvertently passed on a fake.
I’ll do separate articles for the most common fakes I come across in my particular business, and some tips (I’ve learned the hard way!) for avoiding them.
On the trader’s naughty step….
There are loads of reasons why i love the antiques trade. It’s not just for the art and objects, but for the people too, – it’s a world where anyone can make a living, no matter what their background, as long as they’re prepared to put the work in. It’s full of folk who’ve refused the rat-race, love their freedom, and who often describe themsleves as unemployable. Most just prefer being their own bosses, but a few are downright reprobates, so just for fun, here’s a few tales from the naughty step…
– I once knew an antiques dealer in Delhi who had sold ‘a rare village flogging post’ that went on display in a famous Indian museum. It was in fact just a carved post from an old fallen down desert house and he was laughing his head off when told me how the museum curators came to his warehouse looking for artefacts, and when they asked about the post he’d just made up the first exotic story he could think of, – as far as i know that ‘flogging post’ is still on public display …
and a bit closer to home…
– My friend’s dad was a trader in the old days in London. Him and his mates used to saw the handles off cheap brass fireside companion sets (pokers, shovels and coal claws) – then add on glass lenses bought wholesale from Thailand – to make lovely antique ‘Victorian magnifying glasses’ that you can still spot floating about the trade today.
then theres the international antiques trade…
– I’ve never been to Hong Kong but I’m reliably informed that it’s a world class centre for fakery. There’s a whole street dedicated to the cottage industry workshops producing fake Tang Dynasty pottery horses. These pieces can sell for four figures, and are shipped to the west literally by the pallet load.
and one of my personal favourites,
– In 2003 Christies Auction House & The British Museum were both taken in by an apparently ancient Egyptian statue of Tutankhamen’s grand daughter. They each authenticated the piece as over 3000 years old, it was the talk of the antiquites world and was sold for a small fortune. I can only imagine their faces when it was discovered to have been made by a family of master forgers in a garden shed in Bolton…
So if it happens that you realize one day you may have been ‘sold a pup‘ – don’t be too hard on yourself, you’re in some pretty good company!
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