tag:theconversation.com,2011:/fr/topics/art-fraud-10136/articlesArt fraud – The Conversation2017-05-14T20:14:27Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/771732017-05-14T20:14:27Z2017-05-14T20:14:27ZTerahertz spectroscopy: the new tool to help detect art fraud<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168503/original/file-20170509-20757-1vier9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The pigments can look very different when viewed with terahertz 'eyes'. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Garry0305</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When we look at a painting, how do we know it’s a genuine piece of art?</p>
<p>Everything we see with the unaided eye in a painting – from the Australian outback images of Albert Namatjira or Russell Drysdale, to the vibrant works of Pro Hart – is thanks to the mix of colours that form part of the visible spectrum.</p>
<p>But if we look at the painting in a different way, at a part of the spectrum that is invisible to our eyes, then we can see something very different.</p>
<p>As our <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpca.7b01582">recently published research</a> shows, it could even help us detect art fraud. </p>
<h2>A matter of frequency</h2>
<p>The electromagnetic spectrum ranges from very high-frequency gamma rays down to the extremely low-frequency radiation of just a few hertz. Hertz is the unit of measurement for frequency. </p>
<p>The frequency of colours in the visible spectrum range from blue, at about 800 terahertz (THz), through to red at about 400THz (1 THz = 10<sup>12</sup> or 1,000,000,000,000 hertz).</p>
<p>If we drop to frequencies below the visible spectrum we find the near-infrared at about 300THz and then the mid-infrared at about 30THz.</p>
<p>Then comes the far-infrared and at last we meet the frequencies around 1THz. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168502/original/file-20170509-20740-1rxqlwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168502/original/file-20170509-20740-1rxqlwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/168502/original/file-20170509-20740-1rxqlwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168502/original/file-20170509-20740-1rxqlwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168502/original/file-20170509-20740-1rxqlwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=243&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168502/original/file-20170509-20740-1rxqlwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168502/original/file-20170509-20740-1rxqlwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/168502/original/file-20170509-20740-1rxqlwr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=305&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The terahertz (10¹²) region of the electromagnetic spectrum.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>Continuing even further brings us to microwaves and radio waves where frequencies range from the gigahertz down to kilohertz. Thus the terahertz part of the electromagnetic spectrum lies between the radio and the visible parts – in other words, between electronics and photonics.</p>
<p>Things can look very different when viewed with “eyes” that can see in the terahertz range. Some things that are transparent to visible light, such as water, are opaque to terahertz light. </p>
<p>Conversely, some things that visible light won’t penetrate, such as black plastic, readily transmit terahertz radiation.</p>
<p>Intriguingly, two objects that have the same colour when viewed by the unassisted eye may transmit terahertz radiation differently. So their terahertz signal can be used to tell them apart.</p>
<h2>Pigments and colour</h2>
<p>This points to the potential use of terahertz radiation in differentiating paints and pigments. Terahertz spectroscopy can distinguish different pigments with similar colours.</p>
<p>We recently used terahertz spectroscopy to distinguish between three related pigments. All come from a family of chemical compounds called <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Quinacridone#section=Top">quinacridones</a>. These are used widely in producing stable, reproducible pigments that range in colour from red to violet. </p>
<p>Measurements at the University of Wollongong provided the experimental data in the range of 1THz to 10THz. Numerical modelling at Syracuse University (New York) reproduced the experimental data, and gave physical insight into the origin of the features observed.</p>
<p>The combined experimental and theoretical work, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpca.7b01582">published last month in the Journal of Physical Chemistry</a>, unequivocally demonstrates that terahertz spectroscopy is able to distinguish three different quinacridones.</p>
<p>This brings us to the subject of art authentication – or more importantly, detecting cases of art fraud.</p>
<h2>Art fraud</h2>
<p>Museums, galleries and collectors are typically very protective of their art collections, but terahertz spectroscopy is well suited to examining their works. </p>
<p>While terahertz spectrometers are often located in laboratories, there are also portable models. </p>
<p>Unlike an analysis that requires removing and consuming some material (by reacting it with chemicals, or burning it), there is no contact made with the material, and thus no harm done to the artwork.</p>
<p>The terahertz radiation simply shines on the painting, and the transmitted radiation is measured. The low energy and low density of terahertz radiation means that the painting is not damaged in any way.</p>
<p>This all makes it suitable for examining art in a way that does not damage it and can be performed where it is located – in a gallery, or home, or almost anywhere.</p>
<h2>From theory to practice</h2>
<p>So how can terahertz spectroscopy assist in detecting art fraud in practice?</p>
<p>Here’s an example. Let’s say terahertz spectroscopy picks up a quinacridone pigment in a painting. Quinacridone is an artificial material that was first synthesised in 1935, so the painting must date from 1935 or later. </p>
<p>Any claim that the painting is a work by Leonardo da Vinci (who died in 1519), Vincent van Gogh (died 1890) or Claude Monet (died 1926) could therefore be dismissed. Any claim the the work was by an artist who worked after 1935 could not be so easily disproved on this basis.</p>
<p>Of course, other physical methods than terahertz spectroscopy may be applied to analyse paintings. One direct way to analyse art work is by sophisticated, quantitative measurements of the visible spectrum.</p>
<p>Artworks may also be interrogated by other species of light that lie above the blue end visible spectrum. Here the ultraviolet (uv) photons are higher in energy than visible photons. That means they can put energy into a material that is re-radiated as visible photons. </p>
<p>This is the phenomenon of fluorescence, and uv-fluorescence is an <a href="https://aiccm.org.au/national-news/summary-ultra-violet-fluorescent-materials-relevant-conservation">established tool in art conservation</a>.</p>
<p>Moving further above the ultraviolet, X-rays may be used to examine works of art. For example, X-ray fluorescence at the Australian Synchrotron has been used to <a href="http://www.synchrotron.org.au/aussyncbeamlines/x-ray-fluorescence-microscopy/highlights-xfm/synchrotron-reveals-artists-cover-up">find hidden layers in works by Degas and Streeton</a>.</p>
<h2>A genuine fake?</h2>
<p>There are many aspects to authenticating an artwork, the physical examination being but one of them. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, technical analysis of the materials used – the paints, the canvas, the frames – plays a fundamental role, and that is where terahertz spectroscopy contributes. </p>
<p>But other approaches also play a role. For example, documentation such as records of sales may provide key evidence, as may the more subtle appraisal of style by art historians. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-secret-to-all-great-art-forgeries-50173">perceptions of people</a> who assess and buy art is itself an important factor. The word of the artist might be thought to be definitive, but even this has been overruled by expert opinion, as in the case of <a href="https://theconversation.com/lucian-freud-denied-this-painting-was-his-so-how-could-the-bbc-claim-otherwise-62742">Lucian Freud</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, the legal dimension is critical, as has been reported recently in the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/brett-whiteley-art-fraud-case-convictions-sensationally-quashed-20170427-gvtiip.html">quashing of the art fraud convictions of Peter Gant and Mohamed Siddique</a>. These related to the paintings Blue Lavender Bay, Orange Lavender Bay, and Through the Window. At issue was whether the paintings were the work of Brett Whiteley. </p>
<h2>Other uses</h2>
<p>Of course, art fraud is just one application of terahertz spectroscopy. There are many more. </p>
<p>Able to penetrate paper and cardboard, terahertz radiation can be used to look inside envelopes for contraband, or inside packaged food for contamination. </p>
<p>Terahertz methods have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.18.7.077004">used to assess burns</a> and to monitor the <a href="https://plantmethods.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13007-015-0057-7">hydration of plants</a>. </p>
<p>As better terahertz sources, detectors and components are developed, the range of applications will further expand.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77173/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roger Lewis works for the University of Wollongong. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with the International Society of Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves.</span></em></p>Artworks can look very different if you view them with more than the unaided eye, and that can help you spot the fake from the genuine.Roger Lewis, Associate Dean Research, Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/753552017-04-28T01:48:41Z2017-04-28T01:48:41ZDid artists lead the way in mathematics?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166566/original/file-20170424-12645-1us9bvs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is there a geometry lesson hidden in 'The Last Supper'?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo_da_Vinci_(1452-1519)_-_The_Last_Supper_(1495-1498).jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mathematics and art are generally viewed as very different disciplines – one devoted to abstract thought, the other to feeling. But sometimes the parallels between the two are uncanny. </p>
<p>From Islamic tiling to the chaotic patterns of Jackson Pollock, we can see remarkable similarities between art and the mathematical research that follows it. The two modes of thinking are not exactly the same, but, in interesting ways, often one seems to foreshadow the other.</p>
<p>Does art sometimes spur mathematical discovery? There’s no simple answer to this question, but in some instances it seems very likely.</p>
<h2>Patterns in the Alhambra</h2>
<p>Consider Islamic ornament, such as that found in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alhambra-fortress-Granada-Spain">the Alhambra</a> in Granada, Spain.</p>
<p>In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Alhambra served as the palace and harem of the Berber monarchs. For many visitors, it’s a setting as close to paradise as anything on earth: a series of open courtyards with fountains, surrounded by arcades that provide shelter and shade. The ceilings are molded in elaborate geometric patterns that resemble stalactites. The crowning glory is the ornament in colorful tile on the surrounding walls, which dazzles the eye in a hypnotic way that’s strangely blissful. In a fashion akin to music, the patterns lift the onlooker into an almost out-of-body state, a sort of heavenly rapture.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166561/original/file-20170424-12468-11uth6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166561/original/file-20170424-12468-11uth6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166561/original/file-20170424-12468-11uth6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166561/original/file-20170424-12468-11uth6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166561/original/file-20170424-12468-11uth6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166561/original/file-20170424-12468-11uth6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166561/original/file-20170424-12468-11uth6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tiles at the Alhambra.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tassellatura_alhambra.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>It’s a triumph of art – and of mathematical reasoning. The ornament explores a branch of mathematics known as <a href="http://www.math.cornell.edu/%7Emec/2008-2009/KathrynLindsey/PROJECT/Page1.htm">tiling</a>, which seeks to fill a space completely with regular geometric patterns. Math shows that a flat surface can be regularly covered by symmetric shapes with three, four and six sides, but not with shapes of five sides. </p>
<p>It’s also possible to combine different shapes, using triangular, square and hexagonal tiles to fill a space completely. The Alhambra revels in elaborate combinations of this sort, which are hard to see as stable rather than in motion. They seem to spin before our eyes. They trigger our brain into action and, as we look, we arrange and rearrange their patterns in different configurations.</p>
<p>An emotional experience? Very much so. But what’s fascinating about such Islamic tilings is that the work of anonymous artists and craftsmen also displays a near-perfect mastery of mathematical logic. Mathematicians have identified <a href="http://www2.clarku.edu/%7Edjoyce/wallpaper/seventeen.html">17 types of symmetry</a>: bilateral symmetry, rotational symmetry and so forth. At least 16 appear in the tilework of the Alhambra, almost as if they were textbook diagrams. </p>
<p>The patterns are not merely beautiful, but mathematically rigorous as well. They explore the fundamental characteristics of symmetry in a surprisingly complete way. Mathematicians, however, did not come up with their analysis of the principles of symmetry until several centuries after the tiles of the Alhambra had been set in place.</p>
<h2>Quasicrystalline tiles</h2>
<p>Stunning as they are, the decorations of the Alhambra may have been surpassed by a masterpiece in Persia. There, in 1453, anonymous craftsmen at the Darbi-I Imam shrine in Isfahan discovered <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070219/full/news070219-9.html">quasicrystalline patterns</a>. These patterns have complex and mysterious mathematical properties that were not analyzed by mathematicians until the discovery of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-maths-behind-impossible-never-repeating-patterns-63801">Penrose tilings</a> in the 1970s. </p>
<p>Such patterns fill a space completely with regular shapes, but in a configuration which never repeats itself – indeed, is infinitely nonrepeated – although the mathematical constant known as <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-golden-mean-a-great-discovery-or-natural-phenomenon-20570">the Golden Section</a> occurs over and over again. </p>
<p>Daniel Schectman <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2011/shechtman-facts.html">won the 2001 Nobel Prize</a> for the discovery of quasicrystals, which obey this law of organization. This breakthrough forced scientists to reconsider their conception of the very nature of matter.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165892/original/file-20170419-2410-1kdah63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165892/original/file-20170419-2410-1kdah63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165892/original/file-20170419-2410-1kdah63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165892/original/file-20170419-2410-1kdah63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165892/original/file-20170419-2410-1kdah63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=625&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165892/original/file-20170419-2410-1kdah63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=625&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165892/original/file-20170419-2410-1kdah63.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=625&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Laser-cut Girih tiles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/38462165@N05/7947938374/in/photolist-d7kgbf-d7kgmS-d7kfMw-d7kfYm-ErSBxS">Cropped from 38462165@N05/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>In 2005, Harvard physicist <a href="http://www.peterlu.org/">Peter James Lu</a> showed that it’s possible to generate such quasicrystalline patterns relatively easily <a href="http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/200905/the.tiles.of.infinity.htm">using girih tiles</a>. Girih tiles combine several pure geometric shapes into five patterns: a regular decagon, an irregular hexagon, a bow tie, a rhombus and a regular pentagon. </p>
<p>Whatever the method, it’s clear that the quasicrystalline patterns at Darbi-I Imam were created by craftsmen without advanced training in mathematics. It took several more centuries for mathematicians to analyze and articulate what they were doing. In other words, intuition preceded full understanding.</p>
<h2>Perspective and non-Euclidian mathematics</h2>
<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_(geometry)">Geometric perspective</a> made it possible to portray the visible world with a new verisimilitude and accuracy, creating an artistic revolution in the Italian Renaissance. One could argue that perspective also led to a major reexamination of the fundamental laws of mathematics. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166562/original/file-20170424-27254-1kmz7kr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166562/original/file-20170424-27254-1kmz7kr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166562/original/file-20170424-27254-1kmz7kr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166562/original/file-20170424-27254-1kmz7kr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166562/original/file-20170424-27254-1kmz7kr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166562/original/file-20170424-27254-1kmz7kr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166562/original/file-20170424-27254-1kmz7kr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">In reality, the two rails of the track never meet. But, as they approach the horizon, they seem to converge at a distant ‘vanishing point.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/royluck/6907270089/in/photolist-bwnyKB-pG6At9-5LztEk-Dqj7X-GDAFX-4ZTL23-SbENVy-ogaPpC-e1Dwjc-bo9gu9-5PzHLA-33gApu-pF9sDF-acSa44-5hK5in-qACtXB-9PKymD-qGx43a-bMXqhe-nyJJJb-spzJq-MtykS-QP79iu-pTut5d-pBdudH-bc9FxB-7LZvz-7YSN9X-qJgxd8-gHwBrG-pHk9v6-5am2Et-nzztoQ-pNews5-i6AaTM-8bp1pU-kjRuYs-nwgwVY-pDgiPf-7SgnAg-KmMwd-pvYwn1-6rch3G-5nqaHa-RN46qg-Rreaob-ozVXu3-S3B4av-6AdAJ7-RMjS1L">royluck/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>According to Euclidian mathematics, two parallel lines will remain parallel into infinity and never meet. In the world of Renaissance perspective, however, parallel lines eventually do meet in the far distance at the so-called “vanishing point.” In other words, Renaissance perspective present a geometry which follows regular mathematical laws, but is non-Euclidian.</p>
<p>When mathematicians first devised non-Euclidian mathematics in the early 19th century, they imagined a world in which parallel lines meet at infinity. The geometry they explored was, in many ways, similar to that of Renaissance perspective.</p>
<p>Non-Euclidian mathematics has since moved on to explore space which has 12 or 13 dimensions, far outside the world of Renaissance perspective. But it’s worth asking whether Renaissance art may have made easier to make that initial leap.</p>
<h2>Pollock’s chaotic paintings</h2>
<p>An interesting modern case of art that broke traditional boundaries – and that has suggestive parallels with recent developments in mathematics – is that of the paintings of Jackson Pollock. </p>
<p>To those who first encountered them, the paintings of Pollock seemed chaotic and senseless. With time, however, we’ve come to see that they have elements of order, though not a traditional sort. Their shapes are simultaneously predictable and unpredictable, in a fashion similar to the pattern of dripping water from a faucet. There’s no way to predict the exact effect of the next drip. But, if we chart the pattern of drips, we find that they fall within a zone that has a clear shape and boundaries. </p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Greyed Rainbow’ by Jackson Pollock.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ancientartpodcast/8978999917">ancientartpodcast/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Such unpredictability was once out of bounds for mathematicians. But, in recent years, it has become one of the hottest areas of mathematical exploration. For example, <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-chaos-theory-10620">chaos theory</a> explores patterns that are not predictable but fall within a definable range of possibilities, while <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-are-fractals-10865">fractal analysis</a> studies shapes that are similar but not identical.</p>
<p>Pollock himself had no particular interest in mathematics, and little known talent in that arena. His fascination with these forms was intuitive and subjective. </p>
<p>Intriguingly, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1038/nature05398">mathematicians have not been able</a> to accurately describe what Pollock was doing in his paintings. For example, there have been attempts to use fractal analysis to create a numerical “signature” of his style, but so far the method has not worked – we can’t mathematically distinguish Pollock’s autograph work from bad imitations. Even the notion that Pollock employed fractal thoughts is probably incorrect.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, Pollock’s simultaneously chaotic and orderly patterns have suggested a fruitful direction for mathematics. At some point, it may well be possible to describe what Pollock was doing with mathematical tools, and artists will have to move on and mark out a new frontier to explore.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75355/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Henry Adams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Mathematics and art are generally viewed as very different. But a trip through history – from an Islamic palace to Pollock’s paintings – proves the parallels between the two can be uncanny.Henry Adams, Ruth Coulter Heede Professor of Art History, Case Western Reserve UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/388322015-03-18T19:42:38Z2015-03-18T19:42:38ZIs that a Whiteley? Why collectors buy lousy fakes as masterpieces<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74902/original/image-20150316-7075-1qc7yan.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=97%2C108%2C1651%2C916&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One of the paintings that Brett Whiteley's ex-wife Wendy insists is a forgery.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Genevieve Gannon</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It was once famously reported that French painter <a href="http://www.jean-baptiste-camille-corot.org/">Jean-Baptist-Camille Corot</a> in his lifetime completed about 2,500 paintings of which 7,800 are now in American collections.</p>
<p>The gentle Corot did little to help his own cause and would obligingly sign fakes, made by needy artists, reasoning that if a collector was so ignorant as to accept such rubbish as an authentic Corot, he might at least have a real signature for his money. </p>
<p>This cavalier attitude did cause problems for posterity and despite a huge effort and the undisputed significance of Corot in any account of 19th-century European art, prices for his art have suffered. </p>
<p>A key to the problem of fakes in art is collectors who “collect with their ears”, rather than with their eyes. In other words, it is an obsession with names of artists, instead of the quality of the art. Buying an autograph work, in the mind of a collector, equates with owning a piece of the artist’s genius, with the name of the artist as the cherished commodity, while the quality of the art object often of secondary concern. </p>
<p>If more attention was paid to the quality of the artwork and less to the signature, fewer people would be duped into buying fakes. Picasso when questioned whether he always remembered his own paintings, answered the reporter: “If I like it I say it’s mine. If I don’t I say it is a fake.” </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/paintings-fake-brett-whiteleys-widow-tells-art-fraud-case-20150312-142ho2.html">current dispute</a> over the work of Brett Whiteley is a case in point. Two paintings hanging in a Melbourne court room are, according to Whiteley’s ex-wife Wendy, “fakes”.</p>
<p>By the time Whiteley died in 1992, aged 53, he had created a huge, but uneven, oeuvre. At his best, he was one of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/brett-whiteleys-drawings-reveal-the-artist-as-a-master-draughtsman-37041">finest draughtsmen</a> that Australia has produced and a number of his paintings are stunning and memorable. </p>
<p>The paintings in dispute appear as poor echoes of the Whiteley style. What has been disappointing is the defence which has been trotted out that Whiteley must have created these pastiches in some drug-induced haze. </p>
<p>Surely we have had enough focus on the artist’s colourful biography. He has been dead for almost quarter of a century and we need to critically assess his contribution as an artist. This would make it simpler to differentiate the authentic work and fakes designed for collectors with glass eyes.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74903/original/image-20150316-7070-1iivfli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74903/original/image-20150316-7070-1iivfli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74903/original/image-20150316-7070-1iivfli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74903/original/image-20150316-7070-1iivfli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74903/original/image-20150316-7070-1iivfli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74903/original/image-20150316-7070-1iivfli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74903/original/image-20150316-7070-1iivfli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/74903/original/image-20150316-7070-1iivfli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=488&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the Whiteley canvases under dispute.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Genevieve Gannon</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The trade in fakes</h2>
<p>Fakes in art have been a blight on the art trade for decades. </p>
<p>Internationally, the partnership between John Drewe and John Myatt and forgers including Alceo Dossena, van Meegeren, Eric Hebborn and Tom Keating has attained legendary status fooling curators, experts and wealthy clients. </p>
<p>In Australia, the Sydney artist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blundell">Will Blundell</a> has attained a degree of notoriety. He painted what he termed “innuendos”, paintings in the style of Russell Drysdale, Charles Blackman, Arthur Streeton, Arthur Boyd, William Dobell, Sidney Nolan, Lloyd Rees, Brett Whiteley as well as Claude Monet and Picasso. </p>
<p>His dealer, Germaine Curvers, sold those paintings allegedly as originals at prices which later reached up to A$65,000 at auction. </p>
<p>Blundell is prolific and claims to have painted about 400 Whiteleys alone. He argued in his defence that he sold his paintings as his own improvisations which Curvers resold as originals. The Sydney Morning Herald <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20000309173145/http://www.smh.com.au/news/9807/18/features/features2.html">reported</a> in 1998:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Her records, produced to the court, show that over 10 years she paid Blundell – always by cash or cash cheque – only about $40,000, typically $100 to $200 per painting. Her profits were extraordinary – often, just by adding an old $50 frame, she could make a 2,000% profit.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In 2002 the Supreme Court ruled that the 917 paintings in the Curvers estate, most of which were “innuendos” by Blundell, could be sold on the art market. The problem may not be essentially with the maker of the work, but with the secondary market which may rebadge it. </p>
<p>Auction houses continue to be nervous with the stream of high quality fakes with faked provenances.</p>
<p>When introducing an Australian Institute of Criminology conference on art crime in 1999, Adam Graycar, AIC Director (1994-2003) <a href="http://www.aic.gov.au/events/aic%20upcoming%20events/1999/artcrime.html">commented</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Irresponsible and distorted claims of fraud in the popular media have threatened the major multi-million dollar art industry in Australia. Art crime is often a hidden crime as many public galleries do not report theft which would show their security as being inadequate and private collections may not wish to call attention to their collections. The legitimate art market often unknowingly passes on stolen art, and the criminal art market operates in quite a different way to the general market for stolen goods. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Faking is a multimillion dollar art business in Australia where the favourite targets include Whiteley, Bob Dickerson, Charles Blackman, Russell Drysdale, Sidney Nolan and a number of high profile Indigenous artists. </p>
<p>There are about 15 known fakers at work and an unknown number or minor forgers who rebadge anonymous paintings and drawings by adding a well-known artist’s signature or manipulate a reproduction to make it appear as an original and post the forgery on eBay as bait for the unsuspecting investor.</p>
<p>Last year it was <a href="http://news.artnet.com/market/court-case-claims-australian-art-market-is-30-percent-forgeries-64879">claimed</a> in the Australian Supreme Court that up to 30% of the art offered in the Australian art market could be forgeries, an alarming figure which some claim is an underestimate of the real problem. </p>
<p>In Australia, nine conflicting federal, state and territorial jurisdictions, lack of a proper catalogue raisonné for the work of most artists as well as a lack of a comprehensive register of fakes creates a fertile playground for crooks, forgers and ignorant collectors. </p>
<p>Australia is as yet to adopt a serious approach to art fraud.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38832/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sasha Grishin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The current furore over a set of Brett Whiteley paintings has put art fraud back in the headlines. The bad news is that in Australia, the conditions are very favourable for art fakers.Sasha Grishin, Adjunct Professor of Art History, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/249702014-05-09T04:38:00Z2014-05-09T04:38:00ZExplainer: what does an art conservationist do?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46610/original/8mdwjzhw-1397703645.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Intervention by a conservator on an object has to be reversible.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">IAEA Imagebank</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cultural conservation is concerned with how cultural material is preserved as it moves from the past, through the present and into the future. This material may be books in libraries, documents in archives, objects or artwork in museums, or items owned by a community, a family or an individual. </p>
<p>It is the conservator’s job to help ensure the material’s protection and safe passage into the future for as long as is possible. </p>
<p>Art conservation is a complex and highly interdisciplinary task, requiring a knowledge base that may include methods of manufacture, the mechanisms of damage and the cultural significance of an object. Art conservators use history to understand why and when an artwork was made and science to understand how it was made and what has happened to it over time. </p>
<p>When the history of a painting is unclear, conservators will turn to art history to contextualise the work and to science to investigate the evidence of the date and method of manufacture. </p>
<p>Thorough examination and documentation is always the first step in conservation. This involves assessing the original structure and materials of the object, the extent of deterioration, damage and loss, and to ascertain previous restorations or other interventions.</p>
<h2>Restoration and preventative conservation</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46611/original/nw455ndm-1397703783.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46611/original/nw455ndm-1397703783.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46611/original/nw455ndm-1397703783.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46611/original/nw455ndm-1397703783.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46611/original/nw455ndm-1397703783.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46611/original/nw455ndm-1397703783.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46611/original/nw455ndm-1397703783.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46611/original/nw455ndm-1397703783.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1004&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Walters Art Museum</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The terms “conservation” and “restoration” are often used interchangeably, but they represent very different activities. </p>
<p>Restoration seeks to modify the appearance of an object to reduce the visual impact of deterioration or damage and to restore visual continuity. Although conservation may involve restoration, more usually it’s engaged with preventing damage and deterioration. </p>
<p>Preventive conservation brings knowledge of the mechanisms of deterioration to provide the best options for the long-term care of cultural material. Take the example of a newspaper page turning yellow and brittle in the hot summer sun – knowing how the cellulose in the paper ages, that this process involves the creation of acid and that this acid contributes to the discolouration and deterioration of paper, means that appropriate steps can be taken to mitigate this process. </p>
<p>Preventative conservation is a predictive and holistic activity, often involving whole collections. </p>
<p>The operational aspects of air conditioning in museums are often the concern of conservators. Chemical and physical reactions involved in deterioration increase with higher temperatures and with cyclic changes in humidity. As a result, materials may crack or become brittle. </p>
<p>On one hand it makes sense to have continuous and stable air-conditioning; on the other hand, air-conditioning is energy-intensive and expensive to run. Understanding the issues, weighing the risks and advising on the best options for the collection is the job of the conservator.</p>
<h2>Craftsmanship and ethics</h2>
<p>Conservation also requires exceptional craftsmanship and art-making skills such as those employed in the original creation of the artwork; being able to replicate the paint layers, carve a section of an object to replace a lost part, or cast a sheet of handmade paper to use as a fill for a large hole are some examples of these kinds of skills. </p>
<p>There are also conservation-specific skills. The torn edges of a painting’s canvas support may need to be rewoven thread by thread. A hole may require a patch which will then require a complex fill of the ground layer (the layer of gesso applied to the canvas to provide a smooth painting surface), paint and varnish that replicates the surrounding painting. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46617/original/s273phbb-1397707551.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46617/original/s273phbb-1397707551.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/46617/original/s273phbb-1397707551.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46617/original/s273phbb-1397707551.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46617/original/s273phbb-1397707551.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=902&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46617/original/s273phbb-1397707551.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46617/original/s273phbb-1397707551.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/46617/original/s273phbb-1397707551.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1134&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elizabeth Buie</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In some cases the painting’s conservator will simple “tone” areas, adjusting the degree of lightness or darkness, so that the viewer can still read the extent of damage in the image. In other cases the conservator will make the image as complete as possible by “inpainting”, reconstructing lost or deteriorated parts, so that the loss is virtually invisible. </p>
<p>Art conservation became a profession in Australia in 1973 and concerned at how best to support and develop programs for cultural materials conservation, the <a href="http://www.aiccm.org.au/">Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material</a> (AICCM). </p>
<p>Under the AICCM’s <a href="http://www.aiccm.org.au/who-we-are/code-ethics-and-code-practice">Code of Ethics and Code of Practice</a>, any intervention by a conservator on an object has to be <em>reversible</em> – in practice, that means using materials and techniques that can be removed easily in the future. </p>
<p>That’s one reason why an oil painting is never inpainted with oil paint. Oil paint cross-links with age until it forms a hard, plastic surface. In a few short decades a restoration done in oil paint will only be able to be removed with solvents that are strong enough to also remove the original paint.</p>
<p>This concept of reversibility is aligned to the concept of minimal intervention; and both require good documentation, usually a condition and treatment report accompanied by good images.</p>
<p>Because conservators are required to have a very deep knowledge about art and the way art materials age, their expertise is often sought when a work is suspected of being fake or misattributed. Authentication and attribution are complex activities that may have significant impacts on individuals or on the scholarship relating to a particular artist. </p>
<p>Conservators understand the long, silent and often invisible impacts of time and place. They are required to predict the sudden catastrophe that means instantaneous destruction. </p>
<p>Above all they are soothsayers, probing cultural materials to reveal the secrets of how and when they were made, and how they will survive into the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robyn Sloggett receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the work of the Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation is supported by a range of philanthropic organisations.</span></em></p>Cultural conservation is concerned with how cultural material is preserved as it moves from the past, through the present and into the future. This material may be books in libraries, documents in archives…Robyn Sloggett, Director, Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/260442014-04-29T05:30:45Z2014-04-29T05:30:45ZThe Dancing Shiva fiasco should shift attitudes in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47234/original/35kkpppg-1398742789.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The art and antiquities market is notorious for taking the word of the seller at face value.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Quinn Dombrowski</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/visual-arts/nga-accepts-indian-claim-on-us5m-shiva/story-fn9d3avm-1226898893661#">announcement today</a> that the Australian government will return the US$5 million Chola-era Dancing Shiva to India, after <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/search-results?q=kapoor">months of scandal</a> focused on the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) and art dealer Subhash Kapoor, appears as a welcome shift in attitudes to the illicit trade of antiquities in this country. </p>
<p>In reality, as signatory to both the <a href="http://www.unidroit.org/instruments/cultural-property/1995-convention">1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects</a> and the <a href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/illicit-traffic-of-cultural-property/1970-convention/">UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property 1970</a>, Australia has very little option. </p>
<p>An object <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-25/former-unesco-director-says-australia27s-national-gallery-risk/5345186">purchased in 2008</a> by the NGA should clearly have been more thoroughly checked. The more worrying aspect of the announcement is that the Australian Government was put in this position in the first place.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/shiva-picture-in-book-backs-up-looting-theory/story-e6frg8n6-1226672831005">evidence</a> that the statue was in the temple in 1974 clearly marks this as an illicit trade under the 1970 UNESCO Convention. </p>
<p>So the question remains: where are the practical alignments of Australia’s responsibility under the Convention with the acquisition practices, codes and policies of (at least some of) Australia’s major public collecting institutions?</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47251/original/ycs4dxmk-1398747860.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47251/original/ycs4dxmk-1398747860.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47251/original/ycs4dxmk-1398747860.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47251/original/ycs4dxmk-1398747860.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47251/original/ycs4dxmk-1398747860.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=778&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47251/original/ycs4dxmk-1398747860.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=978&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47251/original/ycs4dxmk-1398747860.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=978&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47251/original/ycs4dxmk-1398747860.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=978&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An ancient statue from eastern Nuristan province on display at the Afghanistan National Museum in Kabul.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA S SABAWOON</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Clearly as a result of this case, the answer is that, unfortunately, there is very little alignment. </p>
<p>The art and antiquities market is notorious for taking the word of the seller at face value. In the 2007 art fraud trial of Melbourne couple Pamela and Ivan Liberto, Justice Roland Williams <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/and-this-is-the-libertos-who-thought-theyd-get-away-with-it/2007/11/02/1193619147490.html">expressed astonishment</a> that a number of major auction houses used the provenance provided by the Libertos, who were passing off their fraudulent handiwork as the work of renowned Indigenous artist <a href="http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/yiwarra_kuju/artworks/rovers_legacy">Rover Thomas</a>, as evidence of the history of the work. </p>
<p>This practice of “seeing and not seeing”, which enables works that otherwise would not enter the market free passage into the sales rooms, comes at a substantial cost.</p>
<p>Australia has also been a victim of this kind of illicit activity. In October 1996, dinosaur footprints were stolen from a rocky outcrop on beach near Broome in Western Australia. Western Australian Museum palaeontologist <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/john-long-98402/profile_bio">John Long</a> subsequently wrote a book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Dinosaur-Dealers-International-Smuggling/dp/1741140293">The Dinosaur Dealers</a> that described in detail the links between criminal activity and the sale of fossils in the open market. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47253/original/bscmc3xp-1398748753.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47253/original/bscmc3xp-1398748753.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47253/original/bscmc3xp-1398748753.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47253/original/bscmc3xp-1398748753.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47253/original/bscmc3xp-1398748753.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47253/original/bscmc3xp-1398748753.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47253/original/bscmc3xp-1398748753.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47253/original/bscmc3xp-1398748753.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dinosaur footprints in Broome, Western Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bjarni Thorbjornsson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Paleontologists <a href="http://www.mtholyoke.edu/%7Ejbliberm/smuggling.html">reported</a> that material from ongoing excavations was sometimes stolen overnight, or, as is more common, between digging seasons where excavations sites close down for particular periods. Looting compromises their scientific integrity and often results in the destruction of material with high scientific value but low monetary value.</p>
<p>There is no doubt that the illicit trade in art and antiquities corrupts the market and comprises scholarship. It does so much more, however, as the 2014 <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2014/03/24/3968642.htm">Four Corners report</a> on the Dancing Shiva recorded. T. Krishnamoorthy, trustee of the temple in the remote Indian village of Sri Puranthan, that had been for hundreds of years home to this icon recounted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As the statues were missing, as I was trustee, tears came from my eyes as I thought that the statues went missing during my tenure. There were many people standing around. They all were very sad that the statues had gone from the village.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is the real pattern of the illicit trade: theft from a small, disadvantaged community, that is remote, politically powerless, and perhaps part of a recent conflict; Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt and Syria, present only recent examples. It is also <a href="http://traffickingculture.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013-Dietzler-On-organized-crime-in-the-illicit-antiquities-trade_moving-beyond-the-definitional-debate.pdf">well-documented</a> that the trade in illicit artworks and antiquities are also linked to the trade in arms and human trafficking.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47252/original/pqzp5j5t-1398747978.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47252/original/pqzp5j5t-1398747978.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47252/original/pqzp5j5t-1398747978.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47252/original/pqzp5j5t-1398747978.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47252/original/pqzp5j5t-1398747978.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47252/original/pqzp5j5t-1398747978.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47252/original/pqzp5j5t-1398747978.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/47252/original/pqzp5j5t-1398747978.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Egyptian archaeological mission at a site in Bahariya Oasis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EPA, Egyptian Superme Council of Antiquities</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The illicit trade in art and antiquities removes objects from access and destroys or compromises their meaning. The impact is that critical documents and objects are lost, impeding the ability to produce knowledge that is based on properly verified and verifiable data. </p>
<p>Illicit trade removes or alters the meaning of material that is used for research, reduces the research ability of individuals, and impacts on the kind of new knowledge that can be generated.</p>
<p>Concerns about <a href="http://www.euronews.com/2013/08/28/egypt-hundreds-of-priceless-artefacts-destroyed-in-museum-looting/">looting of Egyptian museums</a> during the civil unrest, the <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2014/04/23/monuments-women-fight-to-save-ancient-sites-art-and-communities.html">destruction of Afghanistan’s heritage</a> during the rule of the Taliban, and current <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/world/middleeast/among-the-wounded-in-syrias-war-ancient-history.html?_r=0">sacking of sites in Syria</a>, continue to receive regular press in this country. </p>
<p>Moral outrage is expressed about the loss of significant material, and anger that this destruction is continuing. The hint of complicity of Australian institutions in such a trade should, therefore, be a matter of national shame.</p>
<p>A more convincing response from the Australian government would be a national audit of the provenance documentation of works purchased after Australia signed the 1970 and 1995 conventions. </p>
<p>The National Gallery of Australia <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-05/national-gallery-defends-practices-over-suspected-stolen-art/5300966">claimed</a> to have undertaken due diligence in this regard. Acquisition policies, particularly where acquisitions rely on public money, or on donors, should include a rigorous process for assessing provenance. </p>
<p>What better time than now to put them to the test? </p>
<p><br>
<em>A previous version of this article stated that the National Gallery of Victoria had been involved in the purchase of the Dancing Shiva. This is not true, and the error has been corrected.</em>
<br></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/26044/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robyn Sloggett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The announcement today that the Australian government will return the US$5 million Chola-era Dancing Shiva to India, after months of scandal focused on the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) and art dealer…Robyn Sloggett, Director, Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.