The Case of the Terracotta Warriors
Three statues of Terracotta warriors supposed to have been produced by the Etruscan civilisation in the fifth century were proudly displayed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art between the years 1915 and 1921. The entire collection was made up of less-than-elaborate fakes, which the museum's curator was unaware of (and who was extremely proud of the sculptures).
Two young guys by the names of Riccardo Riccardi and Alfredo Fioravanti perpetrated the fraud. These two men were accomplished visual artists from Italy. Riccardo was the most talented of his brothers, even though his father and brothers were also accomplished forgers of pottery.
The initial statue was made by Riccardo and his collaborator Alfredo, but because of a disagreement about placing, the statue turned out to be too big for their kiln, and they broke off its arm. The couple used the description provided by the ancient historian Pliny as a starting point for a massive Terracotta warrior head after successfully tricking the museum into purchasing their statue. A 25-foot-tall statue of the deity Jupiter from a bygone Roman temple was recorded by Pliny. The head was raised to a height of four and a half feet by Riccardo and Alfredo.
Although the museum didn't suspect anything, the two started designing their biggest deception yet: an enormous 8-foot-tall Terracotta warrior. Tragically, Riccardo was killed when he was knocked off his horse. Two of Riccardo's cousins would finish the 8-foot-tall Terracotta warrior in place of the former. The statue was bought by the Met. in 1921 for an amount that, after inflation, is said to have been close to $5 million. Yet there was something odd with the genitalia of this statue. The forger had shaped the genitals after his own, and many of the local Italian women recognized them as Riccardo's.
Even so, it would take years before the sculptures' forgery was discovered. Following a series of scientific analyses, it was discovered in 1960 that the sculptures' glazes contained substances that had not been in use since the 17th century.
