Note su un falso cratere pestano nella collezione Rossi di Padova

The article begins with the analysis of a small red-figured bell krater, with scenes inspired by the world of theatre, coming from the archaeological collection of a physician from Padua, Mr Giovanni Rossi. In April 2012, his heirs reported the small bell-krater to the former Veneto Archaeological Superintendency. The aim of this work is, first of all, to highlight the inconsistency of certain technical, stylistic and iconographic elements of this object that confirm its inauthenticity, ascertained through laboratory analysis. The purpose is mainly to investigate the modus operandi of the forger, in order to cast light on the models from which he might have drawn inspiration, with no intention of producing a real copy, as well as to guess in which historical and cultural context the krater was made and for what potential buyers it was created.