Research by a
Perth forensic scientist is helping to
stem the flood of forgeries entering the international
antiques market.  14 August 2006
A Perth forensic scientist is
employing lasers to help trace pottery back to
the kiln site of its production, thus exposing ceramic forgeries, a
multi-million
dollar criminal business.
Emma Bartle from the Centre for
Forensic Science at the University of Western Australia has developed a
scientific method to authenticate porcelain, based on a technique known as
elemental fingerprinting originally used to establish where gold came from. It
employs lasers to vaporise a minute amount of material, which can then be
analysed for the elements it contains, and how much of each is present. The
process causes no visual damage to the ceramics.
“Over the past decade a multi-million
dollar industry has grown up in South-East Asia, Cambodia and Laos to forge
Chinese Ming and Japanese Imari porcelain,” Bartle says. “These modern fakes are
so detailed and sophisticated that gone are the days whereby trained experts can
authenticate pieces using visual examination alone.
“By analysing the porcelains’
chemical composition we can establish the geographical origins of an artefact
and trace it back to the kiln site of its production in China or Japan. Each
site has a different combination of trace elements, such as strontium and
lanthanum, which is unique.”
The accepted conventional method of
authentication at present uses emitted radiation to estimate the age of the
porcelain; the idea being the older the object the less likely it is to be a
fake. However, the process causes visible damage to the ceramics, decreasing
both their cultural and monetary value. “Even worse, forgers have now caught up
with the science and are artificially aging their imitations”, Emma remarks.
Elemental fingerprinting, pioneered by
Prof John Watling for establishing the provenance of gold, is now routinely used
in forensic applications. However, its adaptation and application to ceramics is
new.
This unique research has sparked both
local and international interest. Already museums, auction houses and private
collectors have come forward to loan items from their collections for analysis.
“We are working in collaboration with The Percival David Foundation of Chinese
Art (London), Bonhams Auction House (London) and the Kyushu Ceramics Museum
(Japan).”
“We have also analysed some of the
ceramic artefacts recovered from Dutch shipwrecks along the Western Australian
coastline, which were kindly loaned by the Western Australian Maritime Museum.
Private collectors from the US and UK have also sent porcelain shards from their
own collections for us to investigate,” says Emma.
Emma Bartle is one of 16 Fresh
Scientists who are presenting their research to school students and the general
public for the first time thanks to Fresh Science, a national program hosted by
the Melbourne Museum and sponsored by the Federal and Victorian governments, New Scientist,
The Australian and Quantum Communications Victoria. One of the Fresh Scientists will win a trip
to the UK courtesy of the British Council to present his or her work to the
Royal Institution.
Also issued today:
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How does an embryo find its way? Researchers in
Melbourne have discovered that a compound which attracts white blood cells to
areas of inflammation also plays an important role in attracting human embryos
to the womb.
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