Exhibition: Genuine and Fake Late Antique Egyptian Sculpture

An exhibition of thirty works from the Brooklyn Museum’s permanent collection of Late Antique Egyptian stone sculptures (395–642 A.D.) that includes several examples of reworked or repainted works and some that appear to be modern forgeries, will be on view beginning February 13, 2008.

These ancient sculptures were carved from a soft Egyptian limestone and feature both pagan and Christian scenes and symbols. Some were tomb portraits of the deceased, other carvings decorated the tomb and were used in pagan and Christian cemeteries and in Christian churches and monasteries. The term Coptic, which describes some of the pieces, denotes the main and original branch of Christianity in Egypt.

Late Antique Egyptian sculpture was little known when it began to appear on the market shortly after World War II and into the 1960s and 1970s. At that time a number of pieces were acquired by the Brooklyn Museum. Gradually some scholars began to realize that the examples now in museums in both Europe and the United States included many modern imposters, but a comprehensive study has yet to be undertaken. Many experts believe that some of the forgeries were created upon remnants of ancient pieces and that very few pieces remain as they were originally produced in the period.

For a review of the Brooklyn Museum’s pieces, Curator of Egyptian Art Edna R. Russmann joined a number of outside authorities on Coptic art and on the sources of Egyptian stone. Much of that work is still ongoing. This exhibition focuses on the work done so far, and especially on the stylistic characteristics of the works, both ancient and modern.

The examples of the modern imitations are quite ambitious in scale and complexity and often depict unusual subjects and themes.