The Newsletter of
FITZWILLIAM Ltd.Indo-Asian Antiques |
June 1998
vol. 1/1
The Newsletter of
|
June 1998
vol. 1/1 |
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News and views from Asia |
Tibetan fakery on the rise |
Recently there have been
a number of excellent modern forgeries of both thangkas and bronzes emanating
from Tibet. They can be of superb quality and have already fooled some
of the leading experts in the field.
Earlier (12-15th C.) style thangkas have been appearing on the market for some time, very often painted on genuinely old cloth, they can be very hard to detect. More recently, as the demand for later thangkas has increased, there are now some very convincing 18th and 19th C. style paintings coming out of workshops in Lhasa, Chamdo and Chengdu. Perhaps more surprising is the level of craftsmanship now being seen in fake bronzes. The factory is in suburban Lhasa and specialises in copper and silver inlay work on fine bronzes, they are also producing other styles and techniques. Some have already been sold for very large sums. The photo shows a small (about 3 inches) fake portrait lama, notice the poorly executed hands. CAVEAT EMPTOR! |
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