183 



SHE following observations, on the various frauds which have 

 f*| been practised in forging or falsifying works of art and an- 

 tiquity, were made by A. W. Franks, Esq., at a Meeting of the 

 Society of Antiquaries 16th Dec. 1858. As they may be of use 

 in warning Archaeologists and the public against imposition, it has 

 been thought desirable to give a further circulation to them in 

 our Provincial Magazine. 



" The exhibition of some leaden objects at our last meeting gave rise to 

 observations on the system of counterfeiting ancient works of art, to the detri- 

 ment of archaeological science, and the discouragement of many from pursuing 

 the study of antiquities. I have therefore thought that it might be acceptable 

 to the Fellows of the Society to have an opportunity of examining a few speci- 

 mens of such counterfeits, and of hearing a few observations on the subject. 



" The forging of flint arrow-heads has been brought before the Society on two- 

 former occasions,* and has likewise been noticed in the Archaeological Journal, 

 vol. xiii. pp. 85, 104, and 411. The modern arrow-heads appear to have been 

 manufactured in Yorkshire, though itinerants have offered them for sale in 

 other parts of England, and still continue to do so. They are stated to have 

 been made by a man who resides or used to reside at Fylingdales, close to Robin 

 Hood's Bay.f The dusty appearance of the surface is said to be produced by 

 boiling them in mud. The best criterion of the genuineness of arrow-heads 

 and other objects in flint is the state of the surface, as, except under certain 

 rare conditions, the outer coat of the flint becomes oxydised by long contact 

 with the earth. Another fraud has been practised with regard to flints, which 

 I think was first exposed by Mr. Syer Cuming, which consists in obtaining chips 

 of flint from some old manufactories for making gun-flints on the north coast of 

 Kent, and pretending that they were discovered in British urns.f Celts of 

 basalt are said to be manufactured in the North of Ireland, and I have reason 

 to believe that some stone axe-heads, of very peculiar form, have been fabri- 

 cated in Yorkshire. British urns have been forged in the neighbourhood of 

 Scarborough. The same district has furnished the numerous jet seals which 

 have appeared in various parts of England, and the original type of which is the 

 line seal of Osbert de Hilton in the Whitby Museum. We appear to bo 

 indebted to Italy for the greater part of the forged matrices of seals in brass 

 which are to be found in curiosity shops. They are, however, simply casts from 



• Prooeedinga, vol. ir p. 5, and 288. 

 + Arehaologloa] Journal, vol. xiii. p. 411. 



t Journal of Uritiitli Arcun'oloKical AlMOiatlon, vol. xiv. p. 94. 



