Figure
Date1800-1900
Where made LondonLondon, UK, Europe
MediumTerracotta
DimensionsObject/Work: 200 x 30 x 30 mm
ClassificationsSculpture
Terms
Object numberC00369
DescriptionCarved terracotta figure covered with a black varnish making it resemble slate. It depicts a man wearing a headdress and tunic. The figure is holding a ball in each hand. An inscription reads "Malachbelus L.E. Lucha banloss LY Luchabazloss 404". The object is a fake and it is described in the Cuming manuscript as "Druze idol of Al-Haken Bram, 6th Fatimide chief of Egypt".The Fatimid dynasty dominated North Africa and the Middle East from 909 AD. It was common for "ancient" artefacts to be passed off as real ones and Richard Cuming acquired faked objects, as did many other collectors. Henry Syer Cuming spent a good deal of his life unmasking forgers and their forgeries.
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