Purchased by the Getty Museum in 1986, this “Greek” kouros, claimed to date from 530 BCE, raised immediate suspicion from art historians after its first public display. The sculpture didn’t “look right” because of its “fresh quality” and details that looked “off” such as the fingernails. Initial examination by a geologist had revealed that the stone was from an ancient Greek quarry and had a surface layer of calcamite which forms naturally from dolomitic marble only after hundreds to thousands of years. However, further investigation revealed that the “aging” was likely induced by potato mold over a couple of months, not hundreds of years. The Getty maintains that “the anomalies of the Getty kouros may be due more to our limited knowledge of Greek sculpture in this period rather than to mistakes on the part of a forger.”
By Annie Muller
Sources:
Gladwell, Malcolm. “Introduction: The Statue That Didn’t Look Right.” Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. New York and Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2005. 3–17.
“Kouros.” The J. Paul Getty Museum. http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/10930/unknown-maker-kouros-greek-about-530-bc-or-modern-forgery/.