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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;komokwa, post: 81515, member: 301&quot;]<font size="5"><b>Probing the art market for fakes</b></font></p><p><a href="http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/.a/6a00d83451c64169e20134851038cb970c-pi" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/.a/6a00d83451c64169e20134851038cb970c-pi" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com/.a/6a00d83451c64169e20134851038cb970c-350wi" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></a>If you were the one who forked over 18,500 euros for this exquisite Teotihuacan funerary mask at a recent auction by the Parisian auction house Binoche Renaud Giquello, the government of Mexico has news for you.</p><p><br /></p><p>You bought a fake.</p><p><br /></p><p>In a statement Monday, the government said it had determined that 22 of the 80 Mexican pieces that went up for auction June 14 in Paris were skillfully done reproductions. The fakes brought in 245,000 euros ($301,000 U.S.) – a pretty good haul for phony pieces.</p><p><br /></p><p>The statement said that French and German authorities had permitted experts from the National Institute of Anthropology and History to study the auction lot first hand to check the provenance and examine authenticity. That’s when the Mexican experts determined that the lot contained fakes.</p><p><br /></p><p>In addition to several funerary masks, the fakes included a Nayarit culture cup holder and figurine, a Zapotec urn, an Aztec skull crafted out of basalt, and a statuette from the Veracruz culture. <a href="http://www.binoche-renaud-giquello.com/html/index.jsp?id=7081&amp;np=1&amp;lng=fr&amp;npp=20&amp;ordre=1&amp;aff=1&amp;r=" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.binoche-renaud-giquello.com/html/index.jsp?id=7081&amp;np=1&amp;lng=fr&amp;npp=20&amp;ordre=1&amp;aff=1&amp;r=" rel="nofollow">Click here</a> for the auction house catalog.</p><p><br /></p><p>Like many countries with a rich archaeological heritage, Mexico is attempting to recover looted pieces and prevent the sale of relics smuggled out of the nation.</p><p><br /></p><p>PS...</p><p>Here is an Olmec ......warriors mask....</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Olmec_mask_802.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Yours is more loosely based on the </p><p><font size="6"><b> Pre-Colombian Teotihuacan Civilization, 3rd-6th Century. mask in post #4 .....</b></font>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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