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| Faith in fakes |
| Kishore Singh / New Delhi Sep 01, 2010, 00:07 IST |
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Rupika Chawla is as good a restorer as you can get in India, and then some. You also turn to her when you need something authenticated and she tells it like it is. For this she charges a fee, usually a handsome amount, but her expertise is formidable. She has recently also published a beautiful volume on the work of the iconic painter, Raja Ravi Varma. Which is why when someone wants to sell a painting by Ravi Varma using a bill signed by Chawla as proof of its authenticity, you are assured of the provenance and legitimacy of the purchase. But you could be wrong.
Chawla has taken some pains to write to collectors and galleries cautioning that “certain unscrupulous individuals are attempting to pass off and sell counterfeit paintings purportedly painted by the late Raja Ravi Varma, using a forged bill as a certificate of authenticity which they claim has been issued by me”.
As recently as August 12, Chawla swung into action, lodging a First Information Report with the police, but the person in question using forged bills number 096 and 097, has not been deterred. “Should anyone be approached using these documents, Chawla has cautioned, “please do ensure that you verify the authenticity of the certificate/painting by contacting me” while asking that this information be widely disseminated to “ensure that you are not defrauded”.
Chawla may have taken this action in self interest — it is, after all, her name the forger and peddler of fake art is using — but it is still worth mentioning because the world of expensive, collectible art is ridden with loopholes that allow charlatans to flourish. There is no ombudsman to turn to if you find yourself duped, no art platform to represent your case and rally behind with support, but more than its share of innuendo, rumour and backstabbing. In such an environment, and given the huge prices that art commands, it becomes a natural habitat for those out to make a quick buck.
Right on top of this pyramid are those members of artists’ families who “authenticate” works for a substantial fee — any such levy would be valid if it was done with a degree of expertise and honesty, but when it is exploited to pass off fakes as the genuine goods, it does harm to the reputation of the artist, the collector as well as the art fraternity which, as it matures, will eventually be able to build in the machinery to (mostly) tell the fakes from the originals. But right now, it’s literally the expert’s view against the family’s — and whose would you rather believe? Professional gallery owners are aware of the perils of dealing with the works of certain artists, but these are popular artists too and demand for their work among collectors is high.
One way to ensure that they are not cheated is for collectors to manage the authenticity certificates themselves. Even though professionally run galleries do their utmost to ensure that their reputations and long-term interests are not singed by lending their support to the sale of dubious art, what is mostly surprising is the curious behaviour of the Indian buyer. While he is happy to invest substantial sums to buy a work, demanding papers of both provenance and authenticity as a matter of course, he is unwilling to spend anything extra to seek verification for himself. It is tempting in this case for those less professional, or simply greedy, to exploit this lacuna by passing off the papers without due process.
When a collector who buys a painting for Rs 50 lakh will not spend Rs 1 lakh (the fee that the Raza Foundation charges, for instance) or '2-3 lakh (that most family inheritors charge) or the sum that experts levy, they are in genuine danger of being landed with a lemon. It seems silly to be penny-pinching when the result could save you from landing yourself in some embarrassment — and an expensive dud.
These views are personal and do not reflect those of the organisation with which the writer is associated.
kishoresingh_22@hotmail.com
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