Bonham's and Identifying Fakes

The Antiques Trade Gazette is reporting that Bonhams auction house is partnering with Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, UK to develop new technologies which will assist in identifying fake and fraudulent artworks. It appears the strong Chinese market is driving some of these new technologies and awareness of fakes. As the price of Chinese art has skyrocketed, and as a result, so has the number of fakes, frauds and misrepresentations within the sector.

According to the article, there have been many new testing methods developed which can assist in analyzing art, but many have not been commercialized or accepted within the art community. The partnership between Bonham's and Cranfield University hopes to bring some of the emerging technology into the mainstream of art authentication. While many in the trade are still skeptical of the merging of connoisseurship with forensic art examination technology, it certainly appears to be the proper path to follow as these new technologies become available, and in adopting them for use in the art world.

The ATG reports

Last September, it emerged that Chinese specialist Guan Haisen had begun using a bespoke laser and spectrometer designed by the Florida-based company Ocean Optics to determine the age of works of art in the state-owned superstore Beijing Antique City.

The Bonhams/Cranfield project aims to further develop and adopt the techniques systematically for the art market by making the process less abrasive to the object and the databases for the trace elements more detailed and specific.

Chairman of Bonhams Asia Colin Sheaf said: "For decades we have sought a forensic technology which will easily and reliably address the authenticity problems generated by 30 years of relentless faking of expensive Chinese ceramics.

"Cranfield's team will now provide the specialist technology and experienced forensic scientists to carry out the analysis, and Bonhams will define the practical issues and provide access to the core data material. We will work together to establish the methodology that will give us all confidence to make robust deductions from tiny quantities of core sample. This project will be of immense benefit to both participants, and to the wider academic and commercial art market."

While some senior members of the trade remain sceptical as to whether any technological 'breakthroughs' can ever be watertight, most remain open to the possibility that these developments in forensic analysis will have a place in the market in the future.

To read the compete ATG article, click HERE.

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