An attempt to sell a bronze fake of Edwards in Odesa

For over a year now, antique dealers in Odesa have been offering for sale a bronze plaque allegedly belonging to the sculptor Borys Eduards. The object has raised doubts among art historians because of the discrepancy between the original images and documentation from the early 20th century.

This was announced by Yuriy Maslov, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Decarbonization Fund of Ukraine.

According to him, for more than a year now, the Odesa antique market has been trying to sell a fake bronze plaque allegedly created by the famous local sculptor Borys Eduards.

According to legend, the plaquette belongs to Marazli's great-granddaughter, who kept it in the attic during the occupation, and parts of the address and bronze lid ended up with different heirs. Before the war, the item was asked for 50 thousand euros, but now it is offered to a "reasonable person" for a little less.

The sellers claim that the plaque is unique, but experts immediately drew attention to Minerva's rough facial features, short neck, horse chin, and dubious patina.

Volodymyr Kudlach, a recognized researcher of Edwards' work and author of his monograph, confirmed the suspicions. A slide of the original board was shown at a lecture at the Odesa Art Museum, and the publication was published in 1914 in the catalog of Serhii Kondakov.

Maslov noted that the main issue is not the criminals trying to sell the fake, but the low quality of the work itself and expert opinions. In museum circles, people joke that there can be two expert opinions on the same object: "the item was made by C. Fabergé" or "the item bears the stamp of C. Fabergé". The lack of precision in the wording creates confusion and raises doubts about the expert's professionalism.

In this case, the categorical statement of authorship, combined with references to the museum collection, is surprising in art historians' circles. It remains to be seen whether the expert deliberately affixed the museum's seal or made a mistake.

At the end of October, a group of scientists from the Budzhak Archaeological Expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine visited Bolhrad in Odesa region and handed over 453 artifacts found during the last expedition to the local historical and ethnographic museum. The finds of the XVII-XVIII centuries were transferred to the museum for permanent storage.

Анна Бальчінос