Antiquity Studies

Epigraphic Falsification

Methods and Case Studies

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open access | peer reviewed
    edited by
  • Lorenzo Calvelli - Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Italia - email orcid profile

Abstract
The book investigates the complex articulations of epigraphic forgery, a phenomenon widely attested in Italy between the late Middle Ages and the 18th century. Non-genuine inscriptions or falsae, as Theodor Mommsen called them, are those that present themselves as ancient, but in reality are not. They can be produced either on material support or simply on paper. Within them, different types of documents can be distinguished: forgeries made for malicious purposes, replicas of ancient inscriptions, and texts or monuments inspired by classical epigraphic models. The book brings together fifteen scholarly essays, which examine individual cases of forgery, reconstruct the epistemology of forgery criticism and rehabilitate numerous epigraphs mistakenly believed to be forgeries, while confirming their actual antiquity.

Keywords Ciriaco de’ Pizzicolli • Printed editions • Luigi Biraghi • Coarse altar • Casa Museo dell’Antiquariato Ivan Bruschi • Manuscripts • Mariangelo Accursio • Aquileia • Aqueducts • Epigraphic research • Critical editions • Epigraphic models • Internet • Savoy Piedmont • Latin poets of Renaissance • Jacopo Valvasone • Epigraphic forgeries • Pingone • Antiquarians • Epitaph • John Disney • Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum • Antiquarian market in the early 1900s • Latin epigraphy • Manuscript • Fake • Pirro Ligorio • Classical scholarship • False inscriptions • Forgery • Intellectual history • Epigraphy • Lex de imperio Vespasiani Antonio Agustín • CIL VI 990* • Renaissance • Epigraphic forgeries on paper • Senatus consultum • Digital editions • Primacy of Sardinia • Meyranesio • Aqua Vergine • Ancient restorations • Ager Mediolanensis • CIL VI 991* • Counterfeit instrumentum inscriptum • Fitzwilliam Museum • Council of Trent • Antonio Trevisi • Cities • Decretum Rubiconis • Forged blunder • Lucas Peto • F • Non-alphabetic graphemes • Forged inscriptions • Spain • Spurious imitations • House of Savoy • Thomas Hollis • Forgeries • Epigraph balanced between dimensions and inscripti • Lepontic • Marche • Fake inscriptions • G • Inscribed zone as decorative surface • Roman Liguria • Documentary forgeries • Copies • Christian forgeries • Amphora • Pseudo-antique palaeography • Theodor Mommsen

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-386-1 | e-ISBN 978-88-6969-386-1 | ISBN (PRINT) 978-88-6969-387-8 | Number of pages 312 | Dimensions 16x23cm | Published Dec. 16, 2019 | Language fr, en, it

Copyright © 2019 Lorenzo Calvelli. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.