Heritage Crime exhibition ‘Fakes and Forgeries’ quiz

As part of our Heritage Crime exhibition, we ran a competition called 'Fakes and Forgeries', and challenged visitors to spot the four fakes objects from the ten items from the museum's collections on display.  You can find out who the lucky winner was here, but as the quiz was a tough one, here are the ten objects again and the truth as to whether they were real or fake...

Object 1 - Bronze Age pot

This object is a FAKE!  Its a modern replice of a Bronze Age pot, used by the museum's education team.

Object 2 - Roman bronze statuette

This gruseome little statuette is also a FAKE!  This cast bronze statuette was most likely made in the 19th Century.

Object 3 - Roman bronze belt decoration

This object is REAL! It was collected by Captain Melville, who travelled in Greece and Italy in the late 19th and early 20th Century and donated many of his objects to the museum in 1926.  It was probably attached to a thick leather belt.  The 'Phrygian cap' that the figure wears was originally Turkish, but became a symbol throughout the Roman world of freedom and liberty.

Object 4 - Egyptian shabti

This object is REAL! Its an Egyptian shabti, a ceramic model of a servant placed inside a tomb.  This shabti has the facial features and hair painted on.

Object 5 - Roman bronze statuette

This statuette is FAKE! Just like the other Roman bronze statuette, this is a 19th Century copy.  It is very crudely cast!

Object 6 - Etruscan bronze brooch

This brooch is REAL!  Like the belt attachment above, this object was collected by Captain Melville and donated to the museum in 1926.  It was made by the Etruscans - the people who lived in norrthen Italy before the Romans.  It is known as a 'leech shaped' brooch, as the bow is in the shape of a leech swollen with blood!

Object 7 - Roman steelyard weight

This object is REAL! It was found in Italy and is a weight from a small set of weighing scales.  The hook on the top of the head was used to hang it from one arm of the scales, and it could then be moved along.  It is in the shape of a boy's head.

Object 8 - Egyptian bone bead

This bead is a FAKE! Although carved with images of Egyptian deities and a 'cartouche' (a name plaque), this bone bead is an early 20th Century copy.  The size and style of the characters are very crude when compared with originals, and the name in the cartouche doesn't really exist.

Object 9 - Etruscan bronze arm ring

This object is REAL! This arm ring fooled a lot of you! It is a genuine Etruscan arm ring, thought to have been used to link people together when treading grapes.

Object 10 - Egyptian bronze statuette of Osiris

This object is REAL! This small bronze statuette was probably placed in a tomb.  It depicts Osiris, the Egyptian Lord of the Dead, holding a crook and a flail across his chest.

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