forgery

forgery

1. Criminal law the false making or altering of any document, such as a cheque or character reference (and including a postage stamp), or any tape or disc on which information is stored, intending that anyone shall accept it as genuine and so act to his or another's prejudice

2. Criminal law the counterfeiting of a seal or die with intention to defraud

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

Forgery

See also Fraudulence, Hoax.

Acta Pilati (Acts of Pilate)

apocryphal account of Crucifixion. [Rom. Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 7]

Altamont, Col. Jack

convicted of forgery; sentenced to transportation; escapes. [Br. Lit.: Pendennis]

Caloveglia, Count

creates a bronze statue of a Greek faun and sells it as an authentic antique. [Br. Lit.: South Wind in Magill II, 988]

Chatterton

boy poet produced poems allegedly by 15th-century monk. [Br. Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 164]

Constitutum Constantini

so-called Donation of Constantine, a document in which Constantine gave Rome authority over his capital at least a decade before his capital was founded. [Rom. Hist.: Wallechinsky, 45]

Mr. X

by definition, the identity of the greatest forger of all time. [Pop. Culture: Wallechinsky, 47]

Protocols of the Elders of Zion

tract purporting to reveal a Jewish conspiracy to control the world. [Jew. Hist.: Wigoder, 170]

Raspigliosi cup

masterpiece attributed to Cellini, discovered in 1984 to have been forged by Reinhold Vasters, 19th-century goldsmith. [Ital. Art: N. Y. Times, Feb. 12, 1984]

Rowley poems

the work of Thomas Chatterton (1752–1770), who said they were written by a 15th-century priest. [Br. Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 371]

Vermeer

successful fakes of his paintings went undetected for many years. [Dutch Hist.: Brewer Dictionary, 371]

Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Forgery

 

in art. (1) The preparation Of works of fine, decorative, or applied art in imitation of a particular historical style or the style of a well-known master. Forgery is done with the intent of sale.

(2) A forged work of art. A forgery is seldom a copy of an original. It most often is a variation upon an original or a compilation of characteristic motifs from several originals. Forgers, some of whom are very talented, imitate the stylistic details of a specific era or the artistic style of a particular master artist, painstakingly copying all his distinctive techniques. For greater verisimilitude, they use old materials and old technical devices. Forgers simulate the effects of age, such as patina on stone and metal and craquelures on paintings. They create artificial gaps and fragmentation, allegedly caused by the passage of time.

REFERENCES

Libman, M., and G. Ostrovskii. Poddel’nye shedevry. Moscow [1966].
Friedländer, M. J. Echt und Unecht. Berlin, 1929.
Goll, J. Konstfälscher. Leipzig, 1962.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.