[Rarebooks] FS: The Greatest CFollection of Fakes Ever Assembled (1739)

[Joslin Hall Rare Books]

Passeri, Fr. Giambattista.  LUCERNAE MUSEI PASSERII. Sumptibus Academiae 
Pisaurensis.  Pisauri: 1739; 1743 & 1751.

Giambattista Passeri, S.J., Abbate of Pesaro, was an enthusiastic 18th 
century collector of ancient Roman terra-cotta lamps, as well as a tireless 
author, antiquary, and promoter of his native city.  Passeri eagerly bought 
a wide variety of unusual specimens from peddlers and "excavators" who soon 
learned to come to him first with anything really interesting, and 
assembled perhaps one of the greatest collections of ancient lamps ever 
made, with many unique and incredible examples. The gullible but 
enthusiastic cleric dreamed of establishing a classification system for 
ancient lamps based on his collection, and this dramatic three-volume 
catalog was the cornerstone of his efforts, but unfortunately...

You see, the thing about terra-cotta is that it is very difficult to tell 
an old piece from a new piece which has been made to look old, especially 
if you are an overly credulous collector who thinks that he has stumbled 
onto a wide variety of new and unique forms.

Scholars had always looked at the collection with some reserve, and by 1905 
H.B. Walters, in his landmark study "History of Ancient Pottery.  Greek, 
Etruscan and Roman", noted that "references to Passeri's work have been 
avoided, as it has been shown by Dr. Dressel that nearly all those 
published by him are false."

What we are left with, however, is one of the most elaborate catalogs of 
fakes ever produced.

As Otto Kurz (Fakes -A Handbook for Collectors and Students) says-

      "the Passeri Collection was one of the
      greatest assemblages of fakes ever brought
      together: every single one of the more
      ambitious pieces is false."

This work is all the more interesting since most of the lamps were custom 
made with the intention of selling them to this one collector, who for 
decades constituted a market unto himself.

There is some sort of distinction in that.

3 volumes, 10.5"x15", 92 pages + 105 engraved plates; 73 pages + 104 
engraved plates; 147 pages + 110 engraved plates; there are also some 
engraved decorations in the text;  bound in old marbled boards with 
parchment spines; some cover soil, but overall a nice set.  $2,250


JOSLIN HALL RARE BOOKS
Fine books of the 16th-20th centuries
on the decorative and fine arts & design

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