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FORGED EGYPTIAN
ANTIQUITIES
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AGENTS
AMERICA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
64 & 66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
AUSTRALASIA THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
205 FLINDERS LANE, MELBOURNE
CANADA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA LTD.
ST. MARTIN’S HOUSE, 70 BOND STREET, TORONTO
INDIA MACMILLAN & COMPANY LTD.
MACMILLAN BUILDING, BOMBAY
309 BOW BAZAAR STREET, CALCUTTA
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[Illustration: PLATE 1. A BLUE CANOPIC JAR, WITH ANUBIS HEAD. This is an
imitation of porcelain and shows very well the unevenness of the modern
glaze. Such jars were used to contain the internal organs of the dead
and were placed in the tomb beside the mummy.]
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FORGED
EGYPTIAN
ANTIQUITIES
BY
T. G. WAKELING
AUTHOR OF “THE WHITE KNIGHTS”
ETC.
[Illustration: Decoration]
ADAM & CHARLES BLACK
4 SOHO SQUARE LONDON
1912
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BALLANTYNE & COMPANY LTD
TAVISTOCK STREET COVENT GARDEN
LONDON
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PREFATORY NOTE
I WISH to express my indebtedness to Mr. and Mrs. Firth, of the Nubian
Archæological Survey, and to Dr. G. A. Reisner, of the Harvard
University Expedition, for their kindness in assisting me.
Plates I, II, XII and XVI were prepared from water-colour drawings made
by Miss Enid Stoddard, but all of the others have been reproduced direct
from the objects themselves.
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. INTRODUCTORY 1
II. GOLD ORNAMENTS 11
III. LAPIS LAZULI FIGURES AND IRIDESCENT GLASS 27
IV. FIGURES IN WOOD 35
V. STONE FIGURES 45
VI. PORCELAIN FIGURES 61
VII. SCARABS 67
VIII. ALABASTER 95
IX. PORCELAIN, SERPENTINE AND GRANITE 99
X. MUMMIES AND MUMMY CASES 113
XI. A FORGED TOMB 119
XII. THE MAKERS AND SELLERS OF FORGED ANTIQUITIES 125
XIII. EGYPTOLOGISTS 135
REFERENCES 151
INDEX 153
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
IN COLOUR
PLATE PAGE
I. A BLUE CANOPIC JAR WITH ANUBIS HEAD Frontispiece
II. NECKLACES AND A BRACELET 24
III. WOODEN USHEBTI FIGURES 33
IV. FUNERARY FIGURES IN WOOD AND PLASTER 40
V. WOODEN ARTICLES 49
VI. STONE AND COMPOSITION FIGURES 56
VII. STONE AND OTHER FIGURES 65
VIII. SCARABS AND AMULETS 72
IX. ALABASTER 97
X. PORCELAIN, WOOD AND GLASS 104
XI. BLUE PORCELAIN 107
XII. PORCELAIN 110
XIII. BLUE PORCELAIN 113
XIV. A PIECE OF MUMMY CASE 120
XV. BEADS AND MUMMY CLOTH 137
XVI. REPRODUCTIONS FOUND IN NUBIA 114
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LIST OF FIGURES
PRINTED IN THE TEXT
PAGE
MODEL OF A FUNERARY CHAMBER; VIEW OF INTERIOR 35
MODEL OF A FUNERARY CHAMBER; COMPLETE OBJECT 37
HORUS HAWK 40
BES 41
FIGURE OF A NUBIAN, MADE OF SLATE 42
SANDSTONE TABLET AND KNEELING FIGURE 54
A WINGED SCARAB AND THE FOUR GENII 94
A SEALED JAR, MADE OF WOOD, AND PAINTED TO 101
REPRESENT STONE; PERIOD, 20TH DYNASTY
A HAWK’S HEAD, THE LID OF A CANOPIC JAR 102
SMALL ROUGH MODEL OF AN IBIS, IN PORCELAIN 106a
HATHOR 106b
JAR MADE OF SERPENTINE 108
THE GODDESS TAURT 112
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FORGED EGYPTIAN
ANTIQUITIES
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
THERE are a great many people in the world who are interested in Egypt,
in its antiquities, and in the unfolding of its pages of ancient
history; a number collect specimens of old Egyptian art, such as
scarabs, pottery, small statues, &c., and others, when in Egypt, buy
them as presents for friends at home.
It is for this numerous class, which is year by year defrauded of large
sums of money by the plausible sellers of forged antiquities, that this
book has been written, for most of them, sooner or later, find out to
their dismay that that which they had thought was a genuine relic of
ancient days, and prized accordingly, is nothing more nor less than a
clever fraud, and, from a collector’s point of view, worthless. The
Egyptologist, museum authority, and expert collector may be safely left
to take care of themselves; a perusal of the following pages might even
prove interesting to them, although it is exceedingly unlikely that the
book contains anything new so far as they are concerned.
The selling of spurious Egyptian antiquities is not confined to Egypt
alone. London, New York, Paris, and even Algiers, are also the
hunting-ground of the makers of imitations, who often make large sums of
money by imposing upon those who do not possess the knowledge requisite
to detect the fraud.
It is interesting to analyse the frame of mind of the people who have
been cheated. As a rule, they are angry, but they are extremely careful
to keep their feelings to themselves. If you inquire, they pooh-pooh the
transaction as one of little moment, and pass it over, although, as I
shall presently show, many pounds may have been lost. But if the
conversation is not changed, and you wait patiently, you will presently
find that under the carefully repressed annoyance runs a vein of genuine
regret that the nice-spoken, honest-looking and plausible Hassan or
Mohammed had cheated them.
The subsequent history of the fraudulent antiquity is often interesting.
As a rule, it is packed up and taken home, to be presented in due course
to some friend with the cautious remark that “perhaps it is genuine.”
Then some day an unfortunate Egyptologist is brought face to face with
it, and he has to make his escape as best he may, with a certain loss of
reputation. I have heard a hostess remark sarcastically that she did not
know what post was held by her victim in the Antiquities Department in
Egypt, but it certainly did not require a clever man to see that hers
was an important antiquity.
There is no more trying moment in an Egyptologist’s life than when,
after a good dinner, while he is feeling at peace with all the world, a
charming hostess brings out an antiquity for him to pass judgment upon.
I have seen men literally squirm, and many are the subterfuges employed
by them to avoid giving an opinion. Woe betide the unhappy expert if a
mischievous friend happens to be there who will lead their hostess on to
ask questions, and who will assure her, despite mute appeals, that her
victim is an expert in the particular branch to which her statue or jar,
as it may be, belongs. And when the Egyptologist is cornered, and
huffily declares to be a forgery the object upon which he is asked to
pass judgment, the lady is, as a rule, angry or hurt; and then it is
that the mischievous friend saves the situation by murmuring, “How
shocking that these Egyptologists should be so jealous!” The straw is
caught, the hostess smiles again, and peace is restored, while the
unfortunate man from Egypt, vowing vengeance, makes his escape.
If a buyer of some specimen wishes an expert opinion upon his purchase,
he usually lays a deep plan. Perhaps he knows a man connected with the
museum, whose opinion is worth having; or, if not, he gets some one to
introduce him. Then, one day, in a casual off-hand kind of way, he
produces his specimen, and explains that he did not buy it as a “real
thing, you know,” but it seemed very clever, and he did not pay much for
it. Inquiries as to how much has been paid are met by “regrets that he
has forgotten—it was so unimportant.” Most probably it was pounds, but
the buyer will seldom or never tell you.
The expert groans, but cannot escape. The clever ones temporise, and
tell tales of the marvellous cleverness of the forgers, and explain that
it is almost impossible to distinguish some forgeries from genuine
antiquities. Then come other stories of how such and such a one was
taken in, and names are mentioned which stand high in the list of
savants. It is assumed by the expert that his friend will never mention
the matter. Then he expresses the opinion that it would be very
difficult to be certain in the case of the specimen under consideration,
that he himself would not like to say definitely, “and you know, my dear
fellow, it has become almost impossible to tell, for these things are
made by the descendants of the men who made the originals.” So the
friendship is preserved, and the subject drifts away into the safe
region of “perhaps and if.”
It does not seem to occur to the general public that so great has been
the demand for antiquities on the part of foreign museums, private
collectors, and learned societies all over the world that the supply may
threaten to give out; that the districts in which the relics lie are
carefully watched; and that the Cairo museum is a jealous guardian. So
important are the links between the past and the present times that
stringent laws have been passed against unauthorised persons taking
genuine and important relics out of the country. Moreover, the enormous
numbers of antiquities sold yearly would require extensive expeditions
to supply the demand, and few of the finds are obtained surreptitiously.
In fact, since the above was written, an even more stringent law has
been passed by the Egyptian Government, which took effect on July 1,
1912. Under this law all finds of examples of the Arts, Sciences,
Literature, Religions, Customs, Industries, &c., will belong to the
State. The definition of the term Antiquities is most comprehensive, and
covers every possible find.
All dealers will now require to have a licence, the export of
antiquities is quite prohibited unless by special permit from the
department responsible, and any attempt to evade this law will be
followed by the confiscation of the objects.
Any one discovering antiquities must notify the Antiquities Department
at once; should the articles found be of a movable nature the finder
will receive half the objects discovered or their value in money.
A licence from the Ministry of Public Works, issued with the consent of
the Director of the Antiquities Department, must be obtained before any
excavation may be undertaken.
This new law is sure to give a great impetus to the manufacture of
forged Egyptian antiquities.
There is indeed a great fascination in possessing jewels, beads,
necklaces, vases, and statues belonging to a people who lived thousands
of years ago, but it is obvious that there must be a limit to the
quantity available. As the supply becomes less, so the prices rise; for
the demand does not fall off, and to-day £30 or £40 will be paid for a
specimen which, a few years ago, would hardly have brought in as many
shillings. The intrinsic value of these antiquities is very little. They
are prized for their association with the past and as evidences of the
advanced state of culture existing in those far-off days.
The love of money has always been a marked characteristic of the
Egyptian, and here the ingenuity of the descendant of the old craftsman
asserts itself. There is no doubt that he has, from time to time, been
assisted by various Europeans, but he is producing replicas of
antiquities, scarabs, figures, models, so cleverly cut and made that it
puzzles many of the best experts to say whether they are false or real.
Some of these imitations are sold for very high prices. If the discovery
of a fraud is made in time, part of the money will sometimes be
refunded.
The Egyptian forger would not consider that he had done anything
particularly dishonest in deceiving a man in that kind of way. His only
regret would be that the fraud had been discovered, and he would muse
upon the unfairness of Fate, for here he had been with a fortune within
his grasp, only to lose it.
Such cases are seldom brought before the courts, for there seems to be a
tacit understanding between the buyer and seller whereby each accepts
his own risk.
Think for a moment what such a transaction means to the Egyptian.
Supposing he got £3000 for certain objects and made £2500 clear profit:
that would mean at least twenty feddans of land, probably more. These
should bring him, if he lets them out for hire, over £200 a year; or, if
he farmed them himself, £600 or £700 a year. It is a perfect craze with
the Egyptians to get rich, and perhaps our forger has been earning a
precarious living for years, receiving in pay the equivalent of a
shilling or two a day. He has always kept in mind the possibility of
making a coup such as I have described. He has worked hard and
cultivated a plausible manner and learned English with this single
object in view. If he is successful, and the fraud is not discovered
until too late, he will occupy a high position in his village and will
live happily, but always with the hope of making a further haul.
To such a pitch has the art of manufacturing imitations been carried
that I propose to give a few of the more common examples, and here I may
say that the morality of dealing in antiquities resembles, to a great
extent, that involved in the buying and selling of horses. If you go to
a respectable and responsible dealer, you pay more, but you are sure
either to get a genuine article or to have your money returned if things
go wrong. But if you go to a horse coper, you buy at your own risk.
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