Crossroads Roundup: Major Discovery in Morocco, Fake Van Gogh Paintings, and the World's Oldest Cheese
The latest news in art, archaeology, culture and more.
The Van Gogh Museum exposes three fake paintings in private collections…
For many years, the painting above was considered an authentic reproduction of Vincent van Gogh’s 1887 work, Interior of the Grand Bouillon-Restaurant le Chalet (below). After all, Van Gogh was known to sometimes create different versions of his compositions, such as his Sunflowers series.
But technological advancements have made it easier for specialists to analyze paintings and determine their authenticity. In a new study by Teio Meedendorp, Louis van Tilborgh, and Saskia van Oudheusden of the Van Gogh Museum, the researchers found three fakes. In addition to Interior of a Restaurant, which was painted sometime in the mid-20th century, the team determined that two other supposed Van Gogh-reproductions, Head of a Woman and Wood Gatherer, were actually forgeries.
The forgery Head of a Woman (alternately titled Head of a Peasant Woman in a Dark Cap) was sold at auction in 2011 for nearly $1 million. A spokesperson from Christie’s told the Art Newspaper:
We take every measure to ensure the authentication of all works consigned for sale, including seeking the expertise by the most eminent experts around the world. The work was authenticated in 2011, having been confirmed as a Van Gogh. As a matter of practice, we cannot comment any further on individual consignments.
Shakin’ in their boots? I would be.
Scientists are finding more and more uses for advanced technology in the study of art. One recent example includes the EU-backed PERCEIVE Project, which hopes to use AI as a tool in art restoration and preservation through authentic color reconstruction. I do imagine that we’ll be seeing more stories about researchers uncovering fakes, now that they will have additional tools at their disposal.
Archaeologists have found evidence of a 5,000-year-old farming culture in Morocco. This discovery could upend our understanding of prehistoric North Africa.
One hundred years ago, French colonists discovered Oehd Beht, a prehistoric settlement in Morocco. For decades, researchers thought that the community who occupied Oehd Beht was a nomadic tribe, and the site remained under-researched.
A new study published in Antiquity could change that. A team of archaeologists from around the world—including Youssef Bokbot (INSAP), Cyprian Broodbank (Cambridge University), and Giulio Lucarini (CNR-ISPC and ISMEO)—have discovered evidence of a large, stationary farming community dating back to 3400–2900 B.C.
The size of the settlement was roughly that of Bronze Age Troy, and archaeological evidence demonstrates that this community was far more advanced than previously assumed. The team found an abundance of stone tools, pottery shards, the remains of livestock, and seeds of various crops in constructed pits. The authors reflected on the site’s discovery in a press release:
For more than a century the last great unknown of later Mediterranean prehistory has been the role played by the societies of Mediterranean’s southern, Africa shores west of Egypt. Our discoveries prove that this gap has been due not to any lack of major prehistoric activity, but to the relative lack of investigation, and publishing.
Curator Yu-ping Luk of the British Museum shares the fascinating exploits of silkworm smugglers (including a legendary princess) along the Silk Roads:
London-based readers may enjoy visiting the British Museum’s new “Silk Roads” exhibit. (I’m jealous. Take me with you!)
Some other stories that might interest you…
This piece by Maximilíano Durón in ARTnews explores the turbulence in the art market over this past year, including interviews from top collectors. While art has always been seen as an investment opportunity by the well-to-do, it may come as no surprise that this “investment mindset,” in which the chance of a work increasing in value is the only reason for its purchase, has dominated the market in recent years. Art adviser Jacob King argues that this speculative buying has contributed to inflated prices, followed by an overall decline in sales as an ever-increasing share of the population cannot participate.
In other art-related news: just as new technology can uncover forgeries, it can also authenticate originals. The above painting hung in the Church of Saint Félix in Champigny-en-Beauce, France for two hundred years. Parishioners long believed that the work was a 19th-century copy of Sandro Botticelli’s Virgin Mary, Infant Christ, and St. John the Baptist (1490-1495). As it turns out, this reproduction dates to 1510 and was painted in Botticelli’s studio.
And in the world of archaeology: researchers have discovered the ruins of two large medieval buildings in the village of Huttons Ambo in North Yorkshire. Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, archaeologists found an elaborate seventh-century throne room built by the Moche people in Peru.
And finally, the world’s oldest cheese:
Twenty years ago, archaeologists found Bronze Age mummies buried in Xiaohe Cemetery (northwest China). Curiously, these mummies had a white substance smeared around their necks. That substance was a 3,600-year-old soft cheese—the oldest ever found.
This year, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have successfully sequenced the cheese’s DNA. The study published in Cell reveals that this cheese was made from kefir—the L. kefiranofaciens grains present in the sample were closely related to bacterial strains from Tibet, suggesting the possibility of trade between Tibet and northwest China during the Bronze Age. Crucially, the study has also offered scientists the opportunity to track the evolution of probiotic bacteria over thousands of years.
But I know what you’re wondering: does it smell?
As co-author Qiaomei Fu told the New Scientist, “Due to their age, these pale-yellow cheese samples smelled of nothing and were powdery to touch and a little crumbly.”
Wow. The authentication of that painting from Botticelli's studio is amazing. I had not heard of that!
And so interesting to read about those van Gogh pieces too.
These roundup editions are brilliant, Nicole.
I can't get over the 3,600 year old cheese...