YOU ARE HERE:>>REAL or FAKE>>Fake Babylonian plaques page 2.

 

Here is the one we saw on the last page.

 



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Now look at these.

 




Another with the same mould flaw.




 

This other example with the slightly different leg positions might be genuine.

As you can see it is very much larger 

The smaller one  was on offer for £4, 500and is undoubtedly the same as the several fakes of this type sold on eBay for less than a $200 !

Both of these are from the same seller.




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Another on offer on what appears to be a perfectly respectable website and no doubt the seller is convinced that it is genuine.

I've long ago given up telling sellers unless I know them well: one's opinion  is seldom received with any degree of pleasantness!

 

 

 

 





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On this one, clearly from the same mould one cannot see the flaw/crack as it's covered by added  dirt.

 

So, in summary, we have several examples all from the same defective (?repaired) mould, and notably in different types of clay.

The material varies in texture and colour. This is odd.

Most (but not all) OB plaques are are made in a very similar type of fabric.

Here is one from the mould with the crack which has been TL tested.

It proved to be NOT ancient.




But a corollary question arises: are there any of this specific type which are genuine?

Here are two without any mould flaw visible . Exactly the same size as the one which failed TL testing.

 




So some show the flaw and some don't.



Lee writes

 

Are these made from a mold taken from a genuine plaque of this design or is

this specific design at this size a new modern forgery? If the former there would

need to be one or more proven ancient plaques of this exact design.


I have spent a fair amount of time looking at every erotic plaque I could find

online, and there were features on this plaque model that stood out as very

unusual.



1. I could not find another plaque model on which the woman's lower legs are

crossed.

 

2. Only one other plaque in a gallery showed the two figures holding hands in

this manner (and I can't be sure of the authenticity of that one either).

 

(See larger version on previous page)

 

3. The man's genitals are also more prominent on this plaque than on most of

the real ones I could find.

 

Also, on most of the genuine plaques the man has completely straight legs.

 

 

Although none of these observations prove that it's a modern invention, it

certainly led me in that direction.


If that were the case, it is also possible that the modern mold broke at some

point and they repaired it and kept using it, which would account for why only

some of these plaques have that break line. Or of course there might be more

than one modern mold.


 

 

 

If anyone reading this section happens to own one of this specific type , with

or without the mould flaw showing and has had the piece TL tested, I'd be

really interested to hear from you!

 


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This is a particularly unconvincing type.

 




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The one on the right  below is very similar to this type of very unconvincng fake. But quite honesty I dont know if it is genuine or fake. Offered by a totally reputable and knowlegeable dealer so likely to be perfectly ok.

Perhaps the fake has been based on a genuine example of this type

 



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Keep an eye open for more copies of this type of fake.