THE LEARNING CENTER

How to spot restoration

Contributed by Peter Allen
Scans by Jim Bennett

Here's how I have learned to spot the repaired piece:

Restoration of artifacts  has been prevalent ever since the price of large quality artifacts has sky-rocketed. Quality 1st class restoration is done by a few people, and it can take a couple of months to get a piece finished, after waiting in the long lines of artifacts to be restored. Many collectors have restoration done on a piece  to better display the artifact.
  

Other collectors aim to sell the piece as original, omitting the fact
of the restoration. A quality job can leave no visual clue of the
restoration.     Most restoration is done with  Bondo, the same material you use to fix a dent in your car. A restored tip on a point can average about $40,. so this isn't done on the lower grade points. After the Bondo is added to the artifact, it is cut and carved to the shape desired.

Flaking is duplicated on points. Grooves, scratches and gouges are added to slate and hardstone materials such as axes and celts.  Color is added, with oil base and acrylic paints. I have seen some artifacts where the restored part is more attractive than the original.

A quality restoration is hard to detect with your eyes, no matter how big a magnification you use. Even high quality, multi-colored flints can be duplicated by the experienced restoration artist.    A sure-fire way to detect a restoration, is too first wash the item with warm soapy water when possible. Then take the piece, and drag it against your teeth. That's why you clean it first. I've seen one collector after another pick up the same piece and put it in their mouth. Gross if you think about it.
Anyway, as you click the stone against your teeth, you hear a "clink" sound. Practice this at home with a good piece. When you find a restored piece, it will sound like a "thud". A dull sound. Usually  restoration is found on tips and bases of arrowheads, bits and polls of hardstone, and the other half of a banner, as banner stones often break along the hole.

Not long ago I received a wonderful looking Sandia point in a box of
field grade points. My heart was racing, as this point would be valued
at hundreds of dollars. I put it in my favorite display case. Everything
about it looked real, flaking, slight damage, even patina. I noticed no
difference in the sound, and I ignored the odd tone it gave off, just
weird material I thought. A few weeks later a friend looked at it, and
mentioned it felt very light. I weighed it in my hand against a point of
similar size, and it was half the weight. Next I took a hot needle, and
easily put a hole in the piece. I was the proud owner of a plastic cast
Sandia. Museums sell casts to tourists, and people use them as
instruction aids so as not to loose or break a real artifact.
  So, we have the sound and the feel to add to our guns when we are
looking to authenticate an artifact. Make sure to wash it before you put it in your mouth! You don't know where it's been!

Regards -
Peter