According to those working on the frontline in the fight against art crime, the greatest future challenge will not be theft, but forgeries. ‘Stolen artwork has a limited market straight away because it can't easily be sold on,' says Det Sgt Vernon Rapley, head of the Metropolitan Police Service's (MPS) Art and Antiques Unit.
‘But a forgery is attractive to criminals because a new work is created, which is harder to detect, and which can often be sold at market value. This type of crime can cause significant financial loss to collectors and dealers, and even has the potential to distort the historical study of art and cultural property.'
To raise awareness of the problem, the MPS is staging an exhibition at the V&A, ‘Investigation of Fakes and Forgeries' (until February 7). In a UK first, it will showcase the methods used in detecting and preventing art crime, and will include a re-creation of the workshop of Shaun Greenhalgh, who produced fake ‘masterpieces', from Egyptian sculpture to Lowry paintings.
More than 100 fakes will be on display, including ‘Banksys' and ‘Hepworths', which, if real, would be worth in excess of £4 million. (See Country Life's Collectors number, March 3, for a feature on art crime and safeguarding your collection.)
* For more news like this every week, subscribe and save
-
If heaven is on earth, it might be in this home with a converted chapel that is now a swimming pool5 Wood Barton Town House is part of an exclusive 80-acre development in Devon that also comes with fishing rights on the River Avon and four bedrooms.
-
An Italian-inspired recipe for lemon-butter pasta shells with spring greens, ricotta and pangrattatoSpring greens are just about to come into their own, so our Kitchen Garden columnist reveals exactly what to do with them.
