Secretly, most people are curious about the past. And most of us would like to have tangible evidence of it. In many cases, the closest we come to that evidence is behind a glass wall in a museum. Now you can ethically own a reproduction artefact that reinterprets what the past was and meant and give you an idea of its original beauty.
Ethics, mainly. Everytime someone buys a real artifact, it's usually the consequence of an archaeological site being destroyed and looted. The appearance of looted artifacts breaks genuine archaeologists' hearts, and is considered by most governments a criminal act. Real artifacts tend to be broken, dirty and mere shadows of their former beauty. A reproduction artifact can be a re-interpretation of the age it originated from, of the item's inherent beauty, and can call up visions of the era.
So when you're planning to buy a reproduction artifact, what are the three questions you should ask?
1 - Authenticity of the Reproduction
Our reproductions are based on the original artwork, that is housed in genuine, respectable museums around the world, such as the British Museum, London; the Hermitage Museum, St Petersberg, the museum in Heraklion, Crete; the museums in Cairo, Egypt; et cetera. We have a team of specialist artists and craftspeople who reproduce the artifacts, using original materials (see Our Ethical Promise below) and traditional methods, wherever possible.
2 - Who made the object?
Most museum's reproductions are made using mass-production techniques from large firms. Most of our reproductions are made by independent craftspeople, working from their own homes or workshops, usually near to where the artifact was found, e.g. Crete (Minoan), Italy (Roman), Egypt, and the Orkney Islands (early Neolithic) to name a few. So by purchasing your artifact from us, you will be supporting local artists or artisans.
3 - How does it compare to the original artifact? In the majority of cases, we have included with the item the name of the museum where the original is housed, to enable you to directly compare the reproduction's likeness. On some occasions, the reproduction is superior to the original, due to the amount of time elapsed since manufacture, the condition it was in when excavated, and how it's been treated since.
Our Ethical Promise
We can assure all our customers that the manufacture of our reproduction artefacts, wherever possible, all original resources and traditional techniques are used. Our artists and crafts people all take great pride in their work. In some cases we will use modern techniques to duplicate the look and feel of a particular item.
In the case of items such as ivory and hardwoods, we can assure you that no endangered wildlife species or plants are used - in each and every case, alternative resources are manufactured to the best effect.
We also insist that none of our products are manufactured using child labour, either in the UK or abroad.
Our Guarantee to you.
We'd like to stress that we sell museum-quality reproductions of established artefacts that can be found in many of the worlds most prestigious Museums and Art Institutions. In most cases we will give a reference or perhaps a link to the museum where your item is housed.
All of our goods are reproductions so we don't disturb actual archeological sites, rob graves or steal from museums. We have a collection of highly skilled, fully-trained craftspeople who have the historical knowledge and the craftsmanship to create these beautiful artefacts.
Our reproductions accurately copy the artefact as it was found, therefore it may show a few signs of age when you receive it. This is natural and should enhance your enjoyment of the piece.
