Things That Turned Out To Be Fake On Antiques Roadshow

A guest on a 2006 episode of "Antiques Roadshow" on PBS was perhaps hoping that the large stone sculpture his parents kept as a poolside decoration was a piece of ancient Mesoamerican art. It certainly looked like it and, as the guest claimed, testing showed that it hadn't been made with the help of modern tools. But appraiser John Buxton likely only had to take one look at the piece to shoot down any hopes that it was an ancient and highly valuable example of Olmec art.

That's because, when it came to style, the carving was little more than a dud. "Olmec has great balance," Buxton said. "It's tight, it's elegant, and this piece is not that" (via PBS). While he appraised the piece for up to $2,500 as decorative art, he delivered one more blow. He told the owner that, if it had really been Olmec, it would have been worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Olmec art, produced in the Gulf Coast region of Mexico between 1,200 B.C. and 400 B.C., is highly regarded for its fine detail and use of jade, volcanic basalt, and skillfully crafted ceramics. The most famous examples of Olmec art are astoundingly large carved heads, many of which were crafted in San Lorenzo in what's now the state of Veracruz. The largest of those monumental heads stands at nearly 10 feet tall, making them especially difficult to cart off to a taping of "Antiques Roadshow."

To be fair, this piece represents a case of mistaken identity more than outright fakery, but it remains one of the most striking missteps made by an "Antiques Roadshow" appraiser. That's in part because the object in question, described as a grotesque face jug, is truly outlandish. Seen in a January 2016 episode, the ceramic vessel sports a variety of twisted faces, a stitched-shut eye, and other distorted features. Appraiser Stephen L. Fletcher said that he believed it was part of a grotesque face jug tradition from either the Mid-Atlantic states or farther to the south from the late 19th to early 20th century. The guest was understandably bowled over when Fletcher appraised the jug at $30,000 to $50,000.

Soon after the episode aired, however, a viewer sent in a tip that the six-faced jug was actually made by her friend Betsy Soule. When "Antiques Roadshow" got a hold of her, Soule confirmed that she made it while in high school in the 1970s. The vessel's newly appraised value plummeted to $3,000 to $5,000. At least Fletcher was highly complementary toward Soule's work, saying that the jug "was modeled or sculpted with considerable imagination, virtuosity, and technical competence" (via PBS). 

Surprisingly enough, Alvin Barr, the guest who brought the jug on "Antiques Roadshow" in the first place, was also relieved when its value dropped. "I hated it when it was $30,000 to $50,000, because who wants $30,000 to $50,000 lying around their house?" he told The Bulletin.

John Buxton seems to have encountered quite a few fakes in his time on the American version of "Antiques Roadshow." Maybe it's because he's so often on deck for tribal and ancient art, which may not always have clear documentation or other forms of provenance. On a 2016 episode, he spoke with a guest who hoped that the small vessel on the table between them was from the pre-Columbian history of the Tairona people. The guest even brought along documents purporting to authenticate the ceramic bowl, which included four finely made animal figures on the rim and a human one in the vessel itself.

Yet, while Buxton was complimentary toward the artistry of the bowl, he wasn't so keen on its historic pedigree. The figures were more than a bit odd for the established artistic tradition of the Tairona, for one. Then, tapping on the vessel, Buxton noted the high pitch of the noise. That would be difficult to achieve if the piece had been fired authentically in a low-temperature, old-school pit kiln. The condition of the clay instead hinted that it had been fired in a far more modern electric kiln, which reaches much higher temperatures. With an appraised value of just $300 at most, the poor guest was out a hefty chunk of money from his original $1,800 purchase.

The guest who brought what appeared to be a buffalo robe to "Antiques Roadshow" said that she had purchased it from a handyman who had offered to sell her the piece after helping redecorate her mountain home. It had reportedly been sitting in storage for three decades, though its provenance was never confirmed. Appraiser John Buxton said that the art form of the painted buffalo skin was an important part of Plains Indian culture. Different tribes in the region have used preserved buffalo skins as canvases to make decorative pieces and also create records of important events like battles and spiritual visions. Outsider interest in buffalo robes peaked in the 19th century, though they remain of interest to collectors today. 

However, Buxton started to note several issues with the piece in front of him. It had what first looked to be an authentic design, including a series of holes on the edge that would have been made by stakes people set to stretch the skin during the tanning process.

However, the repairs he spotted on the robe were stitched with cotton thread that looked to have been aged, not authentic sinew sourced from the buffalo itself. The hide also appeared to have been tanned using more modern techniques instead of traditional brain tanning. As a decorative piece, it was appraised as $1,000 to $2,000, so at least the guest was able to easily make back her initial $300 investment.

To someone not in the know, the vase that appeared on a 2011 episode of American "Antiques Roadshow" may not have seemed like much. But the clean lines and dark green glaze of the piece indicated — to the guest, anyway — that it might be a valuable TECO vase. The Teco Pottery company (the name comes from a mashup of terra cotta, a type of ceramic) started producing decorative pieces in about 1902 and continued to do so until 1929. The wares produced by TECO became especially known for matte glazes in green hues, sometimes applied to pieces that towered more than 7 feet.

But was the much smaller vase on "Antiques Roadshow" the real deal? According to appraiser Suzanne Perrault, it was no such thing. "It's a beautiful pot, and it has nice arts and crafts lines," she told the seemingly anxious guest before her (via PBS). Yet the glaze wasn't the right shade of TECO green. She also noted that it was a bit too heavy and sported red clay and ridges that weren't characteristic of genuine TECO pieces. She noted that real TECO vessels were typically cast and not thrown on a pottery wheel, a more hands-on technique that may explain the unusual ridges. Perrault estimated it was made in the previous two decades and was worth, at most, $200. "Somebody spiked that sale, which is a shame," she concluded.

If appraiser Andy McConnell had been holding a real Islamic glass cup with more than a millennium of history to its name, it would have been one of the most exciting finds in the history of "Antiques Roadshow." Islamic glassmakers rightfully earned high praise for their work creating finely wrought, colorful glass pieces beginning around the 7th century in Egypt and nearby parts of Asia.

With its carved text and figures, the vessel certainly looked worn enough to live up to 1,000 years of history. It also seemed to bear the marks of having been in contact with dirt for some time. Alas, McConnell said that the engraved marks were made with acid. If the shape of a fish and Arabic text had really been ground into the glass centuries ago, artisans would have left behind tool marks. The use of acid is part of more modern glassmaking techniques.

McConnell generously gave the piece a value of £800 (the price the guest actually paid for it), saying that he put great stock in the guest and the value that the man had assigned to the piece — and perhaps mitigating some of his obvious disappointment at having to tell the guest (in front of a crowd, no less) that it was far from genuine. He also left the door open for mistakes, saying the man should consult with experts at the British Museum just in case. "And If I'm wrong," McConnell said, "come back and kick me, please" (via BBC).

By the 19th century, the French Sévres porcelain factory had established itself as a major manufacturer of trendy porcelain pieces that landed in well-heeled homes across the continent. Thanks to smart management, awareness of changing tastes, and a willingness to take on new and improved production techniques, Sévres was able to hold onto its position for many decades and remains a porcelain manufacturer to this day. But modern collectors are especially interested in antique examples from this company, like its elaborate and finely painted service sets. No surprise so many factories applied fake Sévres marks to inferior pieces.

Perhaps the guest who presented a supposed Sévres box wished they knew about all this before they went on a Season 7 episode of "Antiques Roadshow" filmed in Kansas City. The guest also brought along an urn that was purportedly made at the Ludwigsburg porcelain factory, another producer of fine pottery based in Germany dating to 1758. Yet, when appraiser David Lackey took a look at both pieces, he found some serious issues. Though both pieces were pictured and described in an auction catalog and, in Lackey's opinion, were very finely painted, they weren't genuine. The manufacturer's marks were the main tell, as they just weren't right (as is the case for many supposed examples of pottery from either manufacturer, said Lackey). Even with the fake marks, the guest was told that he could get anywhere from $2,500 to $3,750 for the set.

Pottery from ancient China can easily become the centerpiece of someone's collection, at least if jokes about shattering priceless Ming vases are at all reflective of reality. But the vases presented on a 2001 episode of "Antiques Roadshow" filmed in Miami didn't appear to be from the Ming dynasty. Instead, appraiser James Callahan said that at least one of the vases had the look of a Tang dynasty vessel. Spanning A.D. 618 to A.D. 907 the Tang dynasty saw ceramic artists innovate the use of glazes, bringing new colors to China's pottery.

Over on "Antiques Roadshow," however, the vessels were pretty suspect. Callahan took a small tool and gently scraped the top of one piece, leaving behind a mark. If the vase in question were made of hard jade, that scratch would never have been made, meaning the vessel was likely made out of a softer soapstone or similar rock. The piece also included components made from aluminum, a material that wasn't identified and put into common usage until well into the 19th century.

The other, smaller vase was at least made out of ceramic, though the Tang-style metal piece that had been applied to it was not gold, but a cheaper anodized metal — which prompted the guest to admit that she had noticed it rusting. Though she didn't specify how much she and her husband had paid for the pieces, hopefully, it wasn't much. Callahan gave them a value of just $10 to $20 each.

While other antique markets might see ups and downs, the rare books trade has been surprisingly resilient, staying strong even in the face of massive upheavals like the COVID-19 pandemic. So, perhaps it comes as no surprise that appraisers occasionally come across fakes. However, given the many details that experts can consider, from the quality of the paper to the authenticity of the binding, it may be easier to spot those fakes compared to other objects.

Such was the case with what appeared to be a 1965 first edition of Cormac McCarthy's "The Orchard Keeper," which appeared on a 2010 episode of "Antiques Roadshow." To be fair, appraiser Ken Gloss did confirm that the book itself was a genuine article. The dust jacket, however, was a different story. Gloss explained that this was a serious issue, as dust jackets comprise almost the entirety of a rare book's value. Because of this, some fakers are motivated to put on a facsimile dust jacket. Other people may inadvertently mislead others simply because they wanted a nicer, less-worn dust jacket to wrap around their book.

Gloss noted that the green fabric around the book didn't properly bleed through to the jacket, which it likely would have if the book and dust jacket had been together from the start. That meant the value plummeted from what could have been an estimated $3,500 to just $100. The guest remained even-keeled, however, explaining that they had gotten the book for free.