The Bakwin Lecture "Why Fakes Matter: Authenticity in Ancient Art" with Ken Lapatin

As long as ancient artifacts have been valued, forgers have created fakes to satisfy the desires of collectors. Although forgeries contaminate the archaeological record and are dangerous misrepresentations of the past, they also have considerable value as indices of contemporary taste and preconceptions about antiquity. This lecture surveys some notable instances of archaeological forgery and suggests ways in which we can learn from them.

The memory of alumna Ruth Morris Bakwin, Class of 1919, is honored by bringing a leading figure in the art world to campus. This year, Dr. Ken Lapatin takes up the controversial issue of fakes and asks what they can tell us about how we understand and define authenticity today. Dr. Lapatin is the Associate Curator of Antiquities at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, California. He holds degrees from the University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D.), and Oxford University (M. Stud.). A Fulbright Scholar at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and a fellow of both the American Academy in Rome and the Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts in Washington, D.C., he served as a professor at Boston University teaching ancient art before joining the J. Paul Getty Museum in 2002.

Lapatin is the author of Mysteries of the Snake Goddess: Art, Desire, and the Forging of History, as well as Chryselephantine Statuary in the Ancient Mediterranean World. Among his areas of specialization are ancient Mediterranean Art and archaeology, historiography, forgery, reception, and luxury arts. Archaeological focuses include the Aegean Bronze Age, along with Greek and Roman periods. He has conducted fieldwork in Caesaria Martima (Israel), Roma, and Corinth, and his main publications include “Chryselephantine Statuary in the Ancient Mediterranean World”, and “Mysteries of the Snake Goddess: Art, Desire, and the Forging of History”. Lapatin has curated numerous exhibits, such as Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World; Ancient Luxury and the Roman Silver Treasure from Berthouville; and The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection.