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gerard van weyenbergh

50% of the art in circulation is fake?

Even if the figure is unverifiable, experts estimate the share of fakes circulating on the market at 30%. In Geneva, Yan Walther, director of the Fine Arts Expert Institute (FAEI), even thinks that half of the works are concerned. As for the percentage of fakes among the pieces examined by the institute would be around 80%!

However, the explosion of counterfeit business is directly linked to the market boom generated by new fortunes. Buyers, less knowledgeable, trust sellers without questioning the work's authenticity, opening the way to counterfeiters. To confuse them, the systematic use of scientific analyzes could prove useful to complete the expertise. Many laboratories exist,


A particle accelerator

The proliferation of counterfeits goes hand in hand with the considerable development of methods over the past few decades. Although the study of binders and varnishes involves samples taken from the works since 1989 the C2RMF has been using a particle accelerator (Aglaé).

Among the different techniques are

-X-ray fluorescence (pigment analysis),

-infrared reflectography (underlying design),

-carbon-14 analysis,

-X-ray radiography (for pentiments),

-thermoluminescence (for ceramics) ,

-3D digitization…

The cost of such analyses? From 500 to 15,000 euros, depending on the type and time spent.

WHAT IS A FAKE?

A fake is an imitation of an original work of art, which is not presented as an identical copy, but an adaptation or transformation that retains the work's essential characteristics and creates confusion with the authentic work.

Conversely, the authenticity of a work of art comes from the certainty of the origin attributed to it, concerning the author, the place, the time, the method of manufacture... Regarding works that have not fallen into the public domain, a fake is a work executed in the style and bearing the apocryphal signature of the artist, a signature affixed with fraudulent intent. The fake can also be an original work of which we try to attribute paternity to an artist who is not the author.

Making a fake, what are the risks?

The offense of deception, governed by the Consumer Code, consists of violating the prohibition imposed on any person to deceive or attempt to deceive on the nature, species, origin, substantial qualities, composition, or content of any goods. He is punished with two years imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 euros. For works that have not fallen into the public domain (law of February 9, 1895), the fine is 75,000 euros for those who have fraudulently, and to mislead the buyer as to the personality of the author imitated his signature or sign adopted by him.

What is OCBC used for?

The OCBC (Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Property) is competent in matters of theft and concealment of theft. It is also responsible for the repression of artistic counterfeiting. Its missions are as follows: repression, through judicial inquiries in France and abroad; prevention, with partners such as the Ministry of Culture or art market professionals; the centralization of information, in particular by means of the Treima software (thesaurus for electronic research and imagery in artistic matters) – database of images of stolen goods –; training, through courses organized for French investigators and foreign police officers, and international cooperation.

seen in le journal des arts - Marie Potard

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