Click photo to enlarge	GENUINE Click photo to enlarge Click photo to enlarge	FAKE Click photo to enlarge Click photo to enlarge
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This is one of the most famous--and most photographed--pieces of antique Victorian majolica, the Minton Nautilus & Mermen Centerpiece.  It boggles the mind that the fake-makers would choose such a well-known piece when it's so easy to research and see what the real one looks like.  This fake has been around for a while, at least since 2000 when I first saw it and it is still available in the wholesaler's catalog. You can find these offered for sale currently at anywhere from a few dollars on Ebay to more than $1,000.00 at established antique dealers.  The last time this particular genuine model from Minton came up for auction, it sold for $10,000.00.  You have to ask yourself why would a dealer part with it for one-tenth of what it sold for nearly 5 years ago.   There's so much discrepancy between the genuine and the fake on this one, I don't quite know where to start.  First, the obvious color discrepancy, which may or may not be pertinent because Minton may well have also made this in cobalt like the fake, though I'm only familiar with the aqua.  On any majolica, it's better to examine the details than to concern oneself with color as originals were often offered in a variety of glaze combinations.  Insofar as details go, notice that the rim of the original is slightly rolled outward and the surface of the shell has horizontal ribs.  The base is oval on the original and round on the fake.  The fake has cherubs on one side only, while the Minton piece has them on both sides.  The hair of the seated maiden on the genuine piece flows freely away from her back and arm until it come in contact with the interior roll of the shell.  The hair on the fake is stuck to her back and arm.  There is no separation between the fingers of the mermen on the fakes while they are distinctly separate on the Minton.  The molding on all of the features of the fake lacks the fine detail found on the original and the glazes are shoddily applied.  A genuine Minton example would be fully marked with the Minton mark, a date code, and a shape number.  The fake does not, to my knowledge, carry these markings.

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