Ancient Greek pottery vase

Heoo,

I found this vase on line. it seems repaired from pieces.
do you think it is original or replicate from museum?

 

Looks original and professionally restored so probably looted from a museum by Isis. Without provenance you will need to be careful about online purchases of antiquities.

 

It appears to be a Corinthian alabastron, reconstructed from sherds to a professional museum standard (filling the losses with a neutral color rather than trying to fill in the design to make it appear whole). It could be genuine, or it could be a very sophisticated reproduction meant to deceive by appearing archeological. I think you would really need to put it in the hands of a specialist to be sure.
How did the seller represent it?

 

Value is not significant so probably real.

 

The seller only said it is from ancient Greek, and prbably 6th to 4th BC.

Where Can I find a ancient Greek pottery specialist? Do you think I can send photos to Chicago Art institute museum?

 

That's the word I was trying to think of. Here are ones in the Met:

https://www.google.com/search?q=met...U3gnIEHW2cChIQ_AUoAXoECAsQAw&biw=1600&bih=758

This one reminds me of yours:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/254225

 

Is it at all possible to see inside, to check whether cracks go all the way through to the interior?

 

You could try sending photos to the Art Institute, Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art. The Museum is currently closed due to Covid, though.

 

See the reply below


Thank you for your interest in the Art Institute of Chicago. The Art Institute is not permitted to conduct appraisals or authentications of artwork. You will want to speak with an appraiser to find out more information about your work; please find further information on appraisal resources here: https://www.artic.edu/library/discover-our-collections/research-guides/appraisal-and-conservation-resources-for-art


Sincerely,

Department of Visitor Experience

 

No museum is going to give you an appraised value. No museum is going to guarantee 100% that your item is authentic, particularly not if they can't see & handle it directly. A question the right member of the curatorial staff might answer is whether, understanding they cannot guarantee it, there is anything visible in photos that just screams FAKE to them, whether they can rule it out as an antiquity.

You might find an academic, someone connected with Oxford's Ashmolean Museum & the Classical Art Research Center (CARC) for example, who would be willing to tell you a bit more, while still not making any promises of authenticity. They also will not put a monetary value on anything.

https://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/pottery/default.htm

https://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/xdb/ASP/browse.asp?PageSearch=true

 

Let me start by saying that the best way to be assured of buying an authentic antiquity is to buy only objects with well documented and legal provenance. Buying undocumented objects is, at best, a waste of money as it can never be definitively proved that they are authentic unless you are prepared to pay for expensive testing (and sometimes not even then). At worst, you are contributing to illegal looting of archeological sites and museums. That said.........

It is not uncommon for a curator to provide an informed opinion on an object's identification, particularly if you can get it into their hands. Museums are in the education business, after all. But policies may vary between institutions. Often it is a matter of how much time would be required to answer every such query. For a prominent institution it may just be easier to say no to everyone. However, museums do not want to be in the position of lending their reputations for authentication of objects for sale.

It is almost universal that a museum will not offer a monetary appraisal. This is a standard stated in the professional codes of ethics that most reputable museums subscribe to. It also avoids the appearance of conflicts of interest when museums receive donations of art and objects. They are not allowed to provide appraisals of objects being donated - too much of an appearance of quid-pro-quo, as in "we will give you an inflated appraisal for tax purposes as an enticement for your donation".

Depending on where you are located, you might have more luck approaching a smaller museum associated with a university. If you are in the midwest US (assuming that is why you initially suggested the Art Institute of Chicago), you might try the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. But again, the pandemic will be a problem.

Another alternative, of course, is approaching a gallery or appraiser that specializes in antiquities. Either way, for archeological objects it will be necessary for a specialist to handle the item to accurately assess the materials and condition.