Illustrative model — an approximation, not a scan of the original object.
c. 1900 – 1915
Head of a King or Osiris — Modern Forgery
The date the forgery was made, according to the museum — not an ancient date.
- Material
- Greywacke
- Dimensions
- 9.8 × 4.2 × 8.4 cm
- Findspot
- Made in Egypt in the early twentieth century
- Discovery
- Entered the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1915 as an ancient Egyptian piece; the museum now classifies it as a modern forgery.
- Held by
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Inventory number
- 1915.557
A small head in pharaonic style, made to be sold as an antiquity. During the occupation years the antiquities trade boomed, and with it forgeries, some of which reached major museums.
It is shown here because it tells a true story about that period — not because it is ancient.
Certainty: Established
The Cleveland Museum of Art classifies this head as a modern forgery made between 1900 and 1915.
- The Cleveland Museum of Art “Head of a King or Osiris (modern forgery), 1915.557” clevelandart.org