Newspaper Page Text
Copyright. 191,1. It) the
: Star Company.
Great Britain Rights Reserved.
Clever Imitation of a Winged Scarab of Great Value.
Blue Jar with
Ar.ubis
Head. Which
the
Maker Said
Was
a Genuine
Antique,
Because the
Earth
Was Old.
Handsome
Forged
Mummy of
the Ptolemaic
Period
That Sold
for $5,000.
Imitation Sacred Cat, Alleged to Come
from the Temple at Thebes.
Wooden Dove,
Copied from
the Statuettes Placed
One of the Little_ Ushebti Funerary Figures Counterfeited
in Enormous Quantities.
all periods is one ot the most profitable
occupations of the antiquity forgers. A
handsome mummy case, like the one of
the Ptolemaic period shown on. this
page, will sell for $5,000 or even more,
and the original cost need not be more
than $20 One transaction of this kind
win support a thrifty Egyptian for life.
In making the mummy case a frag
ment of genuine old case if. frcqu mtly
used so that the workers may keep the
style and tone -perfectly. A bundle of
rags and cow bones may be used in
place of the mummy, or if it iB intended
to make a very fine Job a genuine old
be inserted. Unidentified
in Ancient Egyptian Tombs.
HE fabrication
of forged an-
| £ tiqultles has become one of
fofigjjia the most profitable industries
of modern Egypt Every year
more and more wealthy American and
European tourists go to the sunny and
salubrious land of the Pharaohs
Practically every one of these tourists
wishes to take away some relic of the
ancient Pharaohs as a souvenir To sup
ply this demand the modern Egyptians
are working night and day making very
attractive articles In the ancient style
The Egyptian law now requires that
every person finding antiquities shall re
port the fact to the government, which
reserves the right to purchase them
This law really favors the antiquity
forgers, for they represent to their cus
tomers that they are offering them con
traband goods, which offer usually has
the effect of whetting the appetite to
buy. ,
A scholar and Egyptologist, Dr T G
Wakeling, has made a lifelong study of
the methods of the antiquity forgers,
and published a very Interesting book
on the subject. It is Illustrated with re
markable specimens of forgeries which
the author has collected himself.
The manufacture of mummy cases of
sented it as the tomb of some forgotten
pharaoh or chief minister of three thou
sand years ago. He filled it with stelae,
ushebti, jewelry, mummies, vases and
other forged antiquities, all apparently
covered with the dust of ages.
An American millionaire enjoyed the
privilege r,f first visiting this tomb. Ho
was conducted there secretly at dead of
night in order to avoid the government
guards who constantly watch the an
tiquities of this district. He was so im
pressed by what he saw that he cheer
fully gave up $100,000 for the contents
of the tomb. It has been filled up again
sc oral times sinco then.
Purchasers of antiquities are tempted
by the fact that the objects are some
times worth what Is asked for them,
even though forged. Dr. Wakeling men
tions the case of forged antiquities of
real gold that were sold for no more
than the value of the metal. The mod
ern workmanship was excellent.
Tourists will gratify their secret long
ing to buy antiquities in obscure places
in spite of the warnings of archaeologists
and reputable dealei'3. An American
woman showed the author a handsome
necklace of yellow beads, which she had
bought for $50. He remarked that they
were being made regularly for $2 apiece.
"How can you say so, doctor," ex
claimed the woman. "My donkey boy
told me that he stole it from an old
tomb himself, and he ha3 such an hon
est little face!”
Scarab3 furnish the greatest employ
ment to the antiquity makers and deal
ers. Some of the best scarabs are made
in Europe and exported to Egypt, where
the intelligent natives coll them to for
eigners. Scarab making ha3 been car
ried on for about a hundred years, it has
reached such a point that learned
Egyptologists are frequently unable to
tell whether a specimen is genuine or not.
The scarab, which represents the sa
cred -beetle of Egypt, was used as a
charm and buried in large numbers on
a mummy's breast. It was supposed
that the sacred beetle would ward rff
the attacks of evil spirits.
The forged scarabs are sometimes
made of glass, stained to imitate some
semi-precious stone such as carnelian,
which was much used in the ancient
specimens. In another the ancient glaze
is imitated and then stained to give an
appearance of antiquity. A capable ex
pert can detect these two forms of for
gery without much difficulty.
Piece of Genuine Old Mummy Clot*
\ Cleverly Painted b; 1
gHBKKj^^^Modern Egyptians in fci.
Style
mummy may
old mummies are cheap and common in
Egypt.
The painted mummy c’oth is counter
feited with great care Some-hues gen
uine old cloth from a mummy of small
value is used, as in the example shown
here The painting is modern, and an
expert can tell this because the colors
have run. A genuine ancient painting
follows the design with greater exactness.
One of the most enterprising an
tiquity dealers in Egypt, a leading chi-
zen of Luxor, actually const, o, .ud a
great tomb in order to pass off his for
geries paore successfully. He repre-