The problem of fakes is one that is familiar to every art lover and collector. Fakes, often produced with great skill and refinement, are always hard to detect.

Besides the obvious need for a thorough knowledge of the historical and stylistic background, there are a number of specific practical tips which are indispensable aids to establishing authenticity.

Already in the nineteenth century the instances of pewter forgery were numerous. The pewterers of the time thought nothing of making replicas of Gothic or Renaissance pieces, but profiteers gave them an apparently genuine patina and sold them on the market as originals. This patina was achieved quite simply by rubbing garlic or lampblack into the surface; for particularly subtle effects butter of antimony (anhydrous antimony chloride) was used. Nowadays an `antique‘ patina is achieved mainly by using dilute solutions of nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, antimony chloride, powdered alum, and sulphuric acid. In these cases the collector is fairly safe, since by applying citric acid he can distinguish between the false patina, which is affected by the acid, and the genuine patina, which remains undamaged. An abrasive may be used as an alternative to citric acid.

Antique Collection

Dents, scratches, and other minor injuries can all indicate genuineness to the collector, although even these must be checked carefully in case they turn out to be ‘wear and tear’ added at a later date. Signs of attrition, caused by real age or heavy use, should logically only appear in those parts of the vessel subjected to the greatest strain. Faked damage often looks too even or else is found in areas where it could not possibly have occurred had the object been in long and steady use.

Nor are marks themselves necessarily a guarantee, since the more able forgers have made a point of acquiring old punches or making their own, and have used these to stamp their fakes. Imitation stamps can be detected in two ways. Firstly, the surface features of a piece are often worn down, whereas the marks still look fresh and sharply cut, having suffered little exposure. Secondly, the stylistic characteristics of the piece often do not accord with the touchmark: either place and time do not correspond, or else mediocre pieces carry marks that are incompatible with their quality. Care is advised even when dealing with old marks, since original touches are often soldered onto new wares in the same way as are bases, handles, and lids.

Copies of relief pewter are especially common. The forging method is a simple one: a plaster cast is made according to the original sand mould. Experience will tell, however, from the surface of an object whether it has been cast in a stone, bronze, or iron mould, or whether it has been made from a sand or plaster mould taken from worn-out originals. In the latter case the surface of the replica will be blurred and coarse‑grained; it will also be porous and contain little holes which form as a result of air pockets during the casting.

There are other ways in which a piece may be exposed as a fake: where the casting burs and pins have been treated carelessly; where the metal has blotches looking like cloud-patches; or where the outlines of cut or engraved work are indistinct.

A chemical analysis of alloying ratios provides a further means of checking a piece of pewter. Fakes often have a high lead-content (to increase the profit margin); this also makes them lighter, depriving them of the proper ‘feel’.

Identification is more difficult in the case of so-called ‘half-fakes‘. These include added inscriptions (inscriptions, for example, engraved in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries onto good pewter of the’ seventeenth century), and pewter- ware that has been made more `valuable’ by adding decoration. This category also includes articles which have been assembled from various parts belonging to older pieces.

The history of forgeries is as old as the working of pewter itself.

Almost everything has been, and still is, copied. The collector should not be disheartened by this, for a love of pewter is soon followed by a feeling for its genuineness. And the practical suggestions offered above should prevent any severe miscalculations.

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