Distinguishing A Fake Egyiptian Jewelry from An Authentic Egyptian Jewelry
By: Jason Maxwell
Submitted: 2011-04-15 01:42:19 | Word Count: 559
How can we tell whether an Egyptian jewelry is fake or not? How do we distinguish modern from antique? Doing this can be very difficult especially for those who are not really familiar with these jewelry pieces. With modern techniques, any piece can be made to look old and be passed off as Old World. However, there are some very important points to help anyone spot real from the fake.
Among the most common pieces that many people are interested in are the Egyptian cartouche pendants. This jewelry is similar to our modern identity bracelets or dog tags. Most commonly, they are the name, nickname or rank of an individual engraved or stamped into the metal plaque.
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The elements that make up the piece are what you need to check to identify real and bogus. And this can go for any piece that claims it's from the Ancient world.
We have to look at some basics. First, the metal or base metal, then we look at the spelling and format of the words on the pieces, and finally, we look for any markings that were not available at the time.
Modern hieroglyphics are different from those from any ancient kingdom. A most commonly found error and a key in distinguishing modern from antique is the how words are put together. That is, how the images are aligned to be spelled out and read. Unlike English, hieroglyphics are sounds and words that flow specifically, and more often than not, many pieces that are found today are written like common English. This can be attributed to the influx of foreigners wanting souvenirs.
The true base metal is often made of brass, copper blends or hammered fine gold over a base metal or wood. Since during any kingdom, there was no karat mark, gold was just that - gold. Looking for a gold mark can mean fake right off. Anything that come back pure with no impurities can also mean fake since pure gold has impurities.
Format of the cartouche is another key. Typically depending on the kingdom, we can see up and down or side to side format. On a cartouche of, say, the Middle Kingdom, up and down, encased and accented are common. Older Egyptian jewelry pieces had specific markings to denote royalty from servant, working class and all of the social statuses while modern styles bear any design. In contrast, pieces today almost always have some sort of " royalty" symbol on, in or around them.
True Egyptian jewelry might also contain pieces of faience, enameling and lapis, malachite or obsidian gemstone work. Some of them are elaborate pieces and bead work and can be made from local stones and of only a few varieties. Don't get pieces that have opal and foreign stones because usually, these are the signs that they are fake.
While they may look good, one has to consider what was available locally and the person whom the piece was made for. The creation of any piece of jewelry determines status. When hesitant, take it to a local natural history museum that has an Egyptology division or have a specialist in antiquities certify it as fake or real.
Author Resource:-Ancient Egyptian Jewelry and Egyptian Cartouche are symbols of the elegance and uniqueness of one of the most influential eras and civilizations in history. If you're looking for authentic pieces, visit AnneDickJewelry.com.
