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YOU ARE HERE:>>Real or Fake>>Fake Sumerian statues
by attalos
Do you remember the (in)famous "sumerian" statuette sold on eBay a little time ago?
Well, read the following. If the author is right (I do not understand much of ebay technicalities)... what do you think?
This is taken from this website :
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While monitoring online auction sites for the sale of illegal artifacts from Mesopotamia, Iraq Museum International discovered a way that bidders on eBay can influence the highest bid and cheat other bidders.
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Using an eBay listing and its bidding history, Iraq Museum International demonstrates how a four-step price-fixing process led to the online sale of a fake "Sumerian Stone Statue of a Seated Male" on eBay for $3,726 on August
Dubbed the "Sniper Trap," the process can be executed on eBay from any computer in the world and involves the following steps for any auction listing on the site:
1. The seller and a second person posing as a bidder prepare to precisely synchronize their keystrokes on two separate computers logged onto eBay.
2. In the final minute of bidding, the person posing as a bidder places an extremely high bid on the item. This has the effect of triggering all automatic bids set by any other bidder, instantly revealing his or her secret maximum bid.
3. Meanwhile, the seller has filled out a bid cancellation form at eBay, and is ready at the keyboard with a finger over the "Enter" key. Within the last 30 seconds of the electronic auction the seller presses the key, submitting the form to automatically cancel the bid placed by the false bidder.
4. During the few seconds while the false bid was in play, other bidders would be deceived by what they saw: a high bid placed by the false bidder that was only a few dollars higher than the maximum set by the real high bidder. Thus, the last-second bidder, or "sniper," would know that he or she would have to bid over that amount in order to win the auction.This method would account for higher-than-normal bids placed during the final 30 seconds of an auction on eBay.
So it's not only selling a fake but manipulating the selling price!
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LEFT - Priceless gypsum statue of Nani from the temple of Ishtar at Mari. Fara/Ur I Period, c. 2900-2460 B.C. Height 46.4 cm. Damascus Museum. Photo from Fuenftausend Jahre Mesopotamien, Hirmer Verlag (1962). |
November 2014
An interesting update: thanks to Patrick for drawing this to my attention.
Whoever was unlucky enough in 2005 to have paid all that money for this piece has obviously cut their losses, as it is back on eBay.Though being offered honestly as being of 'unknown age'.
The original link to 'Iraq Museum International' still works but it is not shown on that website any longer.
It has been also recorded here on this blog.
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Obviously there was pretty hot bidding!
Someone would have saved himself a lot of money had he been a visitor to my website!
From AldoTT 11th August 05
After laughing for a long time, I decided to submit the following the following as candidate for worst fake of the week.
Described as:
Oh dear another fake Sumerian piece !
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These marks on this piece, which purport to be cuneiform are of course nothing of the sort.
The real Ebih-il was more diginified.
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The statue in eBay looks more a bad copy of Ninni-zaza
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Look here
I emailed him politely.
Him
Hello and thank you for your opinion.
Although I appriciate your email it does'nt alarm me since there are many
experts with no credentials who offer opinions freely and unsolicited..Even
the real experts cannot make such statments without personally examining the
items physicly..
Please refrain from offering your opinion based on photo examination unless
you have some speciality in physic ability that no other expert posseses..
Regards to you and your physic adventures.
Me
NO, YOU ARE WRONG ABOUT THIS IN THIS CASE. A FIGURE OF A KING WOULD NOT HAVE NONSENSE "CUNEIFORM" ON IT!
I THINK YOU MEAN "PSYCHIC". NO, I'M NOT. BUT I HAVE BEEN COLLECTING SUCH THINGS FOR OVER 30 YEARS!!! I DO REALLY KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
BEST WISHES,
Him
Thanks again for your bold assertion that supposes to impose some sort of expertise in antiquities..Ive also been in this business 30 years and have known many people LIKE YOU who have knothing but a passion and a few good books that make you assume you KNOW EVERYTHING..
Get a life and good luck in you collecting..As well I would like to add that this item came from a collection that was collected over 45 years by another so called expert..So who really knows more ..Him or you..I mean if the amount of years under your belt makes you an expert as well as the extensive nature of your collecting then this felow who collected these artifacts must have been world reknowned having some 10,000 peices in his collection..Give me a break and get back to your own little world of friends..Have a few laughs and enjoy your collection.
Regards
Me
You say..." this felow who collected these artifacts must have been world reknowned having some 10,000 peices in his collection..."
Can you tell me the name of this collector please.
Thanks,
Him
The collectors name was Dr Louis William Harling
Indiatlantic ,Florida Deceased now about 18 months.
Regards
The next day this appears on the listing
On Aug-12-05 at 02:47:19 PDT, seller added the following information:
IT HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION THAT I MAY HAVE THROUGH MY IGNORANCE LISTED THIS ITEM WITH THE WRONG DESCRITION.
I AM ADDING NEW INFORMATION HERE FOUND AFTER DOING MORE RESEARCH.
POSSIBLY FROM THE MESOPOTAMIAN - SUMARIAN CULTURE
Iraq: Tell Asmar, Square Temple I, Shrine II
Early Dynastic I-II, ca. 2900-2600 B.C.
During the Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia, statuettes were placed in sanctuaries as votive offerings and were later buried when the temple was remodelled or rebuilt. A representation of a Sumerian standing reverently before his god. Possibly depicting a priest because it lacks the full beard and long hair of other male statues of its type.
My apologies
Then AldoTT brings to my attention this which I had not read it the first time around!
The seller says , inter alia...
The description of all of our auction lots is based on information obtained by me based solely on the photographic appearance of the item(s) without any third party or expert authentication or inspection, but this description cannot and must not be relied upon by any buyer or bidder as a material representation of fact or as accurate or factual as to the culture, condition, value or dating, and is not, nor may it be construed as a representation of fact thereof, as I have no personal first-hand knowledge of these items or their culture, condition, value or dating except as is specifically stated herein. This auction lot is sold as-is and where-is, and all sales are final. Absolutely no refunds or exchanges will be made.
Hmmm.
I feel another email coming upon me...
Me.
Thanks for the name of the collector. I presume that you have no documentation from the collector? Are you simply assuming that it is genuine because it was in a large collection? You say on your listing
""The description of all of our auction lots is based on information obtained by me based solely on the photographic appearance of the item(s) without any third party or expert authentication or inspection, but this description cannot and must not be relied upon by any buyer or bidder as a material representation of fact or as accurate or factual as to the culture, condition, value or dating, and is not, nor may it be construed as a representation of fact thereof, as I have no personal first-hand knowledge of these items or their culture, condition, value or dating except as is specifically stated herein"".
That is not very comforting...sounds like you haven't seen it in person either!!!
Can you reassure me in some way?
Thanks,
B
Anyone heard of " Dr Louis William Harling
Indiatlantic , Florida Deceased now about 18 months".
Nothing online .
True, there are very secretive collectors....but for goodness sake, this is on eBay!!...supposedly 18 months after a 10,000 item collection is available??????
Next day; 12th August
No reply BUT AdoTT has rejoined in the discussion
He asked the seller much as I had and this is the reply he received
"...I have just conducted a serch to gain a better understanding of the item I have listed From what I can gather you are correct concerning the representation not being Ebih but I believe I can say with confidence the possibility is that it came from Mesopotamian-Sumerian culture and is a votive statue from Tell Asmar..Or a votive to Ishtar.. ".Or a votive to Ishtar. like many of the Votives found at Assur.. Let me know what you think Thanks ..."
Is he guessing?
Tell Asmar was excavated in the 1930's by Henri Frankfort.
They did find votive figures which are well documented.
They invariably have a long beard and "pointy out" elbows like this fine one at the Metropolitan museum.
His does not bear comparison!
He said also....
..Or a votive to Ishtar like many of the Votives found at Assur.. Let me know what you think Thanks ..."
Aha!
The fellow has been looking online !
This is one of the worshipper figures found at the temple site at Assur.
Pseudo-cuneiform would never appear on an important object like this!
An important object like this would be, self evidently carved with style and care.
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STOP PRESS!
13th august
The thing has just been removed from the listing.
I emailed the seller to say that I was pleased he had removed ths piece as it was the right thing to do.
His response.
Hello,
I will admit that the staure was probobly not of Ebih-Il however as far as the inscription across the back and on the base of the votive being cuniform .I never stated that it was that was only assumed by you..After legthy research it appears that his votive could and is most likey from the MESOPOTAMIAN - SUMARIAN CULTURE
Iraq: Tell Asmar, Square Temple I, Shrine II
Early Dynastic I-II, ca. 2900-2600 B.C.
During the Early Dynastic Period in Mesopotamia, statuettes were placed in sanctuaries as votive offerings and were later buried when the temple was remodelled or rebuilt. A representation of a Sumerian standing reverently before his god. Possibly depicting a priest because it lacks the full beard and long hair of other male statues of its type.
Likewise the script on the statue is common among those cultures and if you did your research you will find that the experts say that not all inscriptions made sence and because of the times many people used sybols that represented something magical to them..Like the star sybols across the back of the staue and if you wer to look at the bottom seal it was an animal representation which was also common among those cultures during that time..
I removed the item because I decided to keep it in my own collection.
Thanks again for the education since your opinion caused me to dig further into exactly what it was//
I will ask for references to what he says about "magical" marks on this category of artifact.
No response as at 13th August.
Last wirds from AldoTT..................................................................................................................
ANOTHER 
Possibly encouraged by the sale of the above, this has now been listed! 18th August
Another even more dreadful fake!
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This strange thing above sold last August. (2005)
But it's back again!
AND another fake Sumerian statue!! 20th August
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AND yet another! 23rd September
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To page 2 of fakes and forgeries of Sumerian statues 
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