A fraudster named Andrew Crowley, 46, attempted to sell fake ancient statues to Sotheby's, claiming they were inherited from his grandfather. The items—three Cycladic figures and one Anatolian stargazer statuette—were valued at up to £680,000 if genuine. However, the scheme unraveled when forensic analysis revealed that the accompanying invoices, purportedly typed in 1976, were produced using printing methods invented in 2001. Sotheby's experts also spotted spelling errors. Crowley received a two-year suspended sentence after admitting to making a false representation to the auction house.
This case underscores the critical role of due diligence and expert scrutiny in the art market, particularly for high-value antiquities. Sotheby's swift cooperation with the Metropolitan Police prevented a significant fraud, protecting the integrity of London's art market. It also highlights how modern forensic techniques can expose even sophisticated forgeries, reinforcing the need for rigorous provenance checks.