It is generally much easier to detect a fake in wood, ivory, or stone than it is in bronze or gold, in which case one must depend more on the style and the casting.   There are numerous fake bronzes made in Europe, which are overcastings, but this process does not escape a specialist.  An analysis of the alloy is meaningless, because every native caster comes up with a different alloy, according to which metals were available at the time.  As far as the technique of casting is concerned, it is relatively simple for a specialist to distinguish an authentic African lost wax cast from that of a fake coming from a

European atelier.  The patina is significant only in the case of excavated bronzes dating back several centuries, such as those of the Hittites or Greeks.

Molecular analysis should solve many of the problems, for actually the molecules of a metal several thousand years old stretch imperceptibly, which is one of the reasons for the fragility of an object in antique metal as compared to new metal. But these tests, which in any event are still not perfected, do not apply in the expertise of an African object because casting processes were introduced in black Africa by the Portuguese, and in some cases locally by the Arabs, less than 1,000 years ago.

Generally, the fake bronzes made in Africa are very badly done and usually produced in large numbers. They could hardly be mistaken for originals, for the Africans do not even go to the trouble of doctoring them up seriously.  They prefer working in wood, or even in ivory, which is much in demand by Europeans.  I would say that the era of great African casters, those direct heirs of the techniques introduced several centuries ago, has passed.  Generally speaking, there are no fake bronzes in Africa that are unique pieces.

Nevertheless, in spite of all the experts and the controls, there are some fakes made outside of Africa in many American and European museums and collections, just as there are forgeries in areas other than black art, notably paintings and classical antiques.  Fifteen years ago the development of the carbon-14 process made it possible to date wood objects within 100 years by determining at which moment an organic material has ceased to be radioactive.  While this is invaluable for Egyptian or medieval woodcarvings, it is, in my opinion, not very helpful in the case of black art.  For, as we have seen above, an authentic object can easily be less than 100 years old.  More important, a clever forger will make an object from old wood, thus rendering the carbon-14 test invalid since it determines only the age of the wood, not the time at which it was carved.

A more recent process, thermoluminescence, does not appear to give any better results.  I have ascertained on more than one occasion that several examinations of the same object give contradictory results.  In order to become convinced, one has only to refer to written reports from the laboratories at Oxford, which were devoted to a thorough examination of the Hassilar terra cotta from Anatolia.  Each report on the thermoluminescent test concludes with a different date of firing, therefore dating from a different period, and this is with objects that are strictly identical.  The discrepancies varied from 300 to 1,000 and at times 2,000 years.  One thing is certain, at least for that which concerns the specific example of the Hassilars.  Either they are authentic and all date from the same period (within 2 or 3 centuries), or on the contrary (as I believe is more probable), they are the work of one forger or of one atelier, they have still all been produced at the same time, say, within a period of ten years.  This would demonstrate in both cases the extreme inaccuracy of these laboratory examinations.

We come now to the fakes in wood made in Africa destined to be sold to tourists or to flood the European and American markets.  They are for the most part crudely executed, have no plastic quality whatever, and in general, are done from the same stereotyped model.  I do not know of any fakes done as one of a kind in this category.  On the contrary, they are made in large numbers, for hand labor is not expensive and the Africans always sell them.  From time to time, a new "style" of fake appears which may pass undetected in the beginning, but which is rapidly followed by numerous arrivals of objects, all of the same type.

We will cite two specific examples on this subject.  First, that of the sculptor Paul Tahbou who, with the aid of his son, makes large Bamileke masks of the Batcham type in his Cameroon workshop.  These objects are most often done on order and eventually are sold to different collectors.  There is a well-documented article on this subject by Dr. Harter in Art d' Afrique Noire, No. 3.  Another sculptor, Simon Misëre, specialized in the production of Kota and Mahongwe reliquary figures at Libreville (Gabon).  The artist, himself of the Mahongwe race, is the direct descendant of the last traditional sculptor who lived in the Okonja area and executed the bieris according to the needs of neighboring villages.  In these two cases, it is evident that analysis of the materials used, of the tool marks and even of the patina would serve no purpose.  The two sculptors, each showing certain originality, have recognizable styles.

There are other artisans in Africa, not as well known, who are engaged in the same activities as those of Paul Tahbou and Simon Misère.  I know personally a Kuba sculptor at Mushenge in North Kasai, another in the area of San in Mali, who execute traditional objects of their own ethnic group, either on order from Europeans, African dealers, or still for tribal ritual needs.

According to the purpose for which it was made and its final destination, the same object could be considered authentic or false.  Thus, Simon Misére produced two Mahongwe reliquaries; the first, being sold to the village chief, is perfectly authentic; the second, ordered by a European or an African merchant, falls into the fake category.   Moreover, originally these two objects have appreciably the same commercial value.   In ten or twenty years, the one which has stayed in the village will be worth a high price (this object will have been consecrated, will have a natural patina, and will give all the appearances of an antique); the other will always be scorned by collectors, insofar as it is a modern piece.

Another troubling factor in black art and existing nowhere else, as we have indicated before, is that not only could a fake piece have been produced at an earlier date than an authentic one, but also the same hand could have produced both.  The distinction should be made, however, between sculptors like Simon Mistre and Paul Tahbou, who only produce objects coming from their own ethnic group, and others, much more numerous unfortunately, who imitate pieces from any area.  In this case, they are obviously badly done.  In other words, a Mahongwe reliquary executed by a Mahongwe sculptor in Gabon would be more "excusable" and of much better workmanship than a Nimba which should have come from the Baga country in Guinea, but which was instead made at Bamako, in Mali.

An object of the style or of the civilization of a given tribe that is executed by another tribe is, in principle, a fake. However, there are exceptions.  Some artists have been induced to make ritual, functional or court objects for other regions, either as a gift or to be sold.  These objects are completely authentic.  On the other hand, objects characteristic of one ethnic group and produced specially for the western market are copies of questionable value, whatever the date of creation.  To simplify the problem, I would say that a black art object cannot be definitively classified as a fake unless it is expressly copied from the original for commercial purposes.

Actually, there are numerous and successive productions of objects of the same type that are always similar in design to the preceding series to be found in the heart of the same tribe.  In certain regions there are a large number of objects, notably masks that are practically identical, made in numerous copies for the ritual and daily needs of the tribe concerned, from generation to generation in the same village.  These objects as well, are indisputably authentic.

In Africa there is no creative artist as such, and the purely decorative object, of which there are so many in Europe and Asia, does not exist.  All art is functional, ritual or traditional and is inextricably part of the civilization of the ethnic group.  Some pieces are executed with more or less plastic beauty, according to the talents of the creator, who is called an artist but who would more accurately be called an artisan.  It often falls on this person to perform the functions of sculptor and caster.  He must work exclusively for the benefit of the community, which provides him with food and shelter.  He produces the masks and fetishes according to the needs of the moment, always on order of the dignitaries of the tribe and never following his inspiration of the moment, as would any conventional artist.

In effect, that which currently is called an "African art object" was not conceived as such by its creator. The object made in Africa, for the various reasons explained above, became "art object" upon its arrival in Europe.  It was even then classed as "ethnographic and native art".  The concept of "black art" became generally accepted only a short time ago.

As far as the copies are concerned, these have always existed in art.  The notation, "Roman Copy of a Greek Original", is seen on numerous statues in the Louvre.  Those Roman copies have, in turn, been copied during the Renaissance and down through the following centuries.  In black art, as we have seen, objects of the same design have continually been redone, and those executed for ritual purposes retain great value as collection pieces.

The current fakes mass produced in the cities in Africa are less dangerous on the whole than those made in Europe, because they are more easily detected.   However, copies made in the bush according to traditional practices and having aged in the country under local climatic conditions often pose very difficult problems for the expert.  On the other hand, there are also well-classified and well-known styles.  But one must guard against classifying the objects which do not exactly resemble the pieces illustrated in books as fakes.  Some experts are not sufficiently trained in this respect and have committed very grave errors.

There is still a great deal to be learned about Africa.  The pieces characteristic of some countries are perfectly indexed, but there are other regions that are still rich in objects awaiting an accurate classification.  In the course of my 25 expeditions in Africa I have brought back objects which, at the time, were considered doubtful because they "did not exist", but which are now shown in the largest museums of the world and in the most important works on black art.  To cite a few examples, there are the Bambara "queens" from the Bougouni region, the Tellems, the Baga snakes, the Dogon and Bambara irons, the large Nafana masks falsely attributed to the Gourounsi by William Fagg when they first appeared on the market.