I felt that readers might need reminding of this old story by Thomas Hoving: here.
When ex Getty man Arthur Houghton circa minute 59 here mentioned last week "the collection of Count Esterhazy" being a dubious provenance used by a curator ...
If readers go back to the Hoving story, they will remember that this was the provenance given for the Getty Kouros, authenticated by scholars including Brunhilde Ridgway of Kouros books and articles ad infinitum. Hoving says he said it was fake from the start, and that is the belief of most scholars I know. He also in the article names Gianfranco Becchina as the Geneva dealer who sold the Kouros to the Getty.
So although we tend to get upset about items that passed through the Geneva hands of Gianfranco Becchina ... let's not forget that a fake provenance or a lack of provenance can also suggest a fake.![]()
When ex Getty man Arthur Houghton circa minute 59 here mentioned last week "the collection of Count Esterhazy" being a dubious provenance used by a curator ...
If readers go back to the Hoving story, they will remember that this was the provenance given for the Getty Kouros, authenticated by scholars including Brunhilde Ridgway of Kouros books and articles ad infinitum. Hoving says he said it was fake from the start, and that is the belief of most scholars I know. He also in the article names Gianfranco Becchina as the Geneva dealer who sold the Kouros to the Getty.
So although we tend to get upset about items that passed through the Geneva hands of Gianfranco Becchina ... let's not forget that a fake provenance or a lack of provenance can also suggest a fake.
