Corinthianising Revival Inspired by Etrusco-Corinthian Vases

Abstract

János György Szilágyi in one of his studies published in 1987 illustrated through several case studies that forgeries can
be regarded not only as objects that have been revealed to be ingenuine, but also as representatives of their own time.
In the same study, Szilágyi also made the observation, specifically with respect to Etrusco-Corinthian ceramics, that
few forgeries of this genre are known, and that it is more common for a small number of Etrusco-Corinthian elements
to accidentally make their way into objects originally intended as forgeries of Corinthian vases. Today, several decades
later, one can observe that a new demand has emerged specifically for forgeries of Etrusco-Corinthian ceramics. The
purpose of this study is to present a selection of such modern imitations so as to demonstrate how the products of
specific workshops and painters have become a source of inspiration. This phenomenon can undoubtedly be attributed
to newfound academic interest in Etrusco-Corinthian ceramics, as a result of the emerging view (in a large part due to
Szilágyi’s work) that these objects are not merely imitations of Greek art, but original works in their own right. It seems,
therefore, that these Etrusco-Corinthian forgeries are also artefacts of their own time.