The Washington times., 1903-04-10
Forged Antiques.
The Road of the Collector is Not an
Easy One to Travel.

about forged antiques" Certain
'objets dart" recently purchased by
J. PieTpont Morgan, are said by con
noisseurs not to be above suspicion
Be this as 1t may, the temptation to
commit forgery since the desire
Of certain very rich people to possess
what no other can. became fad Of
the age-has been well-nigh irresistI-
BILE. Establishments for the produe-
ton of antiques" have sprung up IN
every corner Of the babitable globe,
And. Judging from appearances, the
Is a fairly prosperous one
The French University Of Public
instruction Is about to inquire into
the genuineness of the famous tiara
of Saitaphernes, purchased by the
Louvre and said to have been found
In Southern Russia. This tiara was
probably manufactured less than
three years ago.
1t isn't so very long ago that the
experts Of the Royal Museum in Ber-
lin accepted as genuine the so-ealled
Moabite antiquities which the Metro
politan Museum IN New York had
rejected as spurious The mortified
ton Of the German archaeologists,
when the fraud was laid bare, Is re-
membered to the present day IN the
scientific world.
The Shapiro forgery of an early
Pentateueh resulted, few years ago
as our readers will reeollect, IN the
suicide of the too-elever ''penman-"
Hundreds of Tanagra figures, fresh
from the shop of some enterprisine
but none too serupulous potter, ara
palmed off as genuine" every yeal
upon an unsuspecting public. The
forgery of Greek vases, coins, anC
gems Is a recognized industry. as /.
the manufacture IN Egypt OF
'scarabs"
When It comes to 1old English por
traits" which have flooded the Amer
/ lean market for the last fifteen years
YOU marvel at the moderation Of th'
Dutch painters of the seventeenth
century, who produced eanvases de
picting Biblical Incidents, not by tn
foot or yard, but by the square mile
/ It was one of these artists who, whel
reminded for the third time by hi
thrifty .haus-frau' that dinner wa
getting cold: Wait a ieetle TIL ] hav
done painting in the Lord and hi
dvelve Mine Colt IN Him
mel! What it ees for a man of mine
to be married -
But the most audacious fraud, b.
! far. is that exposed IN Paris the othe
day, over which the gay city on tn
banks Of the Seine Is still laughing
| One fine day lie Matin" and Il
| Petit Journal announced the forth
coming visit Of his majesty Marie
Eof Sedang, an island a few hundre
miles off the coast Of China. In du
| time his majesty, wearing plenty o
Jewels, with his ministers and retinu
of gorgeously attired black servants
arrived at a famous hotel, where b
/ lived in regal magnifcence, and PaTl
/ found a new sensation IN watchin
his dailv drive along the Bots de Bon
Ilogne. 4 few days later some letter
arrived bearing a curIously shape
and prettily designed stamp, on whic
appeared the words "Sedang '-''tw
moons" as we'll as some French c,
lonial stamps. Partisan philatelis
gave huge brides to the hotel servant
for any Sedang stamps that can
their way, and 50 rapidly did the'
rise in value that they soon change
hands at 1000 francs.
A large sum Of money, 1t may we
be imagined, found It's way into Il
golfers Of this bogus king. All Z
rope seemed swamped with Il
stamps Of "Sedang," and it was n
until a schoolboy wrote to newsp
per asking where "Sedang" was tn
the fraud was laid bare.
Surely the late Phineas 7. Barnu
was right when he said that Peep
loved to be humbugged.
And what "a mad world, my ma
tersW IT Is, after all
Il Golden Rule" Jones. IN his late
: canvass for the mayoralty OF Toledo, a