I would like to talk about the so called muddy waters of antique markets for it has been a concern for collectors new and old for years.  And the situation has not improved but worsen.

Collecting antiques and works of arts used to be a harmless hobby, for some people it's still so, thankfully.  Normally collectors set aside their disposabe income to buy objects of their desire in their chosen field of interest from the antique dealers, fairs and shows or even at auction houses if they feel confident enough.

Collecting is such instinctic human behaviour, it responses to people's natural desire to hoard, to appreciate objects of beauty and the nostagia of good old days. Some of the objects have been passed from generation to generation and have become priceless family heirlooms. And some exceptional collectors at some stage of their life realised their collections were too good not to share with the wider world and chose to lend or donate to public institutes or museums. 

Before parting with the hard-earned cash for the purchase (assuming not everyone has easy money to spend), a  collector would ask is it s genuine? is it the best example of the category,  is it a smart buy? When all 3 questions are satisfied then you've got a happy customer, otherwise buyers' remorse will follow.

There is nothing worse than buying a fake while paying good money for it.  If you bought such object from a reputable source in the country with good consumer protection law, with receipt, you could get a refund.

However it's not uncommon for people knowingly buying fakes! Why? They know they can't afford to buy the genuine article, thus an imitation for consolation.  An act of self-deception I am afraid.  Such practice keeps conmen in business and  resulting more fakes to appear.  Another reason for knowingly buying fake is that there is money to be made.  Those people knowingly buying fakes have ways to pass them on, with profit margin, to new comers who don't know the difference.

Greed is the centre of it.   Money does have a corrupting power in this material world.  

To clear the muddy water, knowledge is key.  Don't buy things that you have little or no knowledge of, in the hope of making huge amount of money.  You might as well buy a lottory ticket. 

to be continue