/ 13 September 2013

Counterfeit Mandela prints dupe art buyers

Counterfeit Mandela Prints Dupe Art Buyers

To the uneducated eye, the two pieces of art look pretty much identical, the differences – slightly different spacing between the signature and the work itself, the art centred on the page rather than set slightly towards the bottom edge – inconsequential.

Yet one, a genuine lithograph featuring work by Nelson Mandela, is worth up to R150 000 – and its value is expected to increase over time. The other, a forgery of no particular skill, is worth exactly as much as the paper it is drawn on.

"In the last couple of months we have seen a lot of these," says André Blignaut of the Clock Tower Gallery in Cape Town, one of two major dealers in Mandela's art.

"I don't know where they come from, but there seem to be a lot of them now that he [Mandela] has been in hospital for a while."

Until Mandela was hospitalised in a blaze of publicity earlier this year, no forgeries had been seen in circulation.

The example Blignaut showed the Mail & Guardian this week appears similar to other presumed fakes, some of which have equally fake certificates of authenticity, that are being offered for sale at R50 000 a piece. The number of fakes sold is impossible to tell because the forgeries are only discovered when buyers seek valuations from a small group of experts who deal in Mandela's art.

Some of the fakes appear to be simple photocopies, whereas others had slightly more effort put into their production, which is suggestive of either multiple creators seeking to cash in on renewed interest in Mandela or a single, evolving source. Either way, it could cause trouble in a small market already confused by controversy.

Of the art created by or associated with Mandela, including prints of his hands, the limited-edition lithographs bearing his signature are by far the most valuable. They are also a source of ongoing contention. In 2005, a group of Mandela trustees, including advocate George Bizos and lawyer Bally Chuene, obtained an interdict preventing the supply of the lithographs when they took over administration of Mandela's various assets from his personal lawyer Ismail Ayob. The matter has been a source of ugly accusations and counter allegations ever since, most recently involving Mandela's children and grandchildren through their legal action to wrest back control of trust funds.

But works that were sold before 2005 remain in circulation and, despite a small supply, slow trade and the legal wrangles, the value of the lithographs has remained steady or has grown.

But that was before buyers came to Blignaut with blatant forgeries.

"I've had some disappointed buyers in here," Blignaut said this week. "I wonder how many disappointed buyers there are out there. Disappointed people make for fewer buyers."

Experts can verify the authenticity of Mandela lithographs with relative ease, in person, thanks to peculiarities of the paper it is printed on, but there are two signs that can verify the originals:

  • The lithographs carry a fairly prominent embossed stamp of two joined hands; and
  • The paper it is printed on carries a watermark that is obvious when held up to the light.