In case anyone is feeling tempted by these recently listed for sale terracotta seals, avoid them as they are all forgeries, many made from fake coin dies.
Which dealer? I've been trying to use ebay less and V coins more...or please PM me the name if you don't want the post public.
I searched the term bulla on VCoins but I don’t see them listed anymore. I’d appreciate a PM with the store name too if possible. I usually purchase through VCoins as I consider it a reputable site and I don’t have the experience/ability to spot any but the most obvious fakes.
I would never have known how to spot a fake bulla, seal, whatever. Assuming the die engraving alone wasn't an obvious tell, what sort of scientific testing can be done on pottery and glass and such materials, to determine it's of more recent manufacture? I assume there must be such tests, but am clueless about that sort of thing.
One problem with identifying a pottery fake is it doesn't oxidise like metal - there's no patina or silver toning to show the object has aged (and yes, i know fakes can be patinated too). I guess you'd go by style. But whenever i look at terracotta seals on eBay, then read what they're saying in the Forum Ancient coins fake reports - 100% of the time these objects are condemned as fake. I'm steering clear of anything that is made of clay.
Is there a reference guide to terracotta bullas like there is for coins? I think that's one of the major problems here.
Sometimes if there are deposits you can have those tested, but there are fraudulent testing services some dealers use (from what I've heard). Style, "feel", and provenance are key. I'd like to know who is selling these if someone in the "know" would tell me. I've avoided these bulla since areich spotted the first die match to a forgery on Forum. Good thing he did, because I was tempted to buy a massive lot.
Yeah, I picked up one of these fugazis on eBay and had posted questions about it. @TIF was kind enough to let me down easy and set me straight with a couple of links. This is from a CT conversation from a few years back with some professional analysis: https://www.cointalk.com/threads/tessera-clay-greek-roman-help-anyone.280048/#post-2446291 And here is another from forum with some very insightful details: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=104760.0
For what it’s worth - and it could just be that I was looking for the wrong terminology - but I was unable to find any form of seal or bulla made of terra cotta or clay in the Portable Antiquities Scheme database. Lead was the standard material, from what I can tell.
And this is why I stay away from areas I know nothing about! The seller called them 'Library seals' or some such language, which I thought was kind of fishy.
The only bulla's I own are on a statue of the Lady of Elche 1:1 replica, she's wearing 3 necklaces with bulla's. a Siculo Punic 5th C. BC statue found near the Spanish town of Elche Spain, the Original is in the National museum in Madrid and considered as Spain's most beautifull statue of ancient times.