LOT 2111

Medieval Style 'Billy and Charley' Lead Alloy Shadwell Type Shrine Forgery

19TH CENTURY A.D.

6 3/8 in. (241 grams total, 16 cm).

Vesica-shaped diptych with standing nimbate Mary and child; openwork panel with mail-clad knight wearing a plumed helmet; believed to be by William Smith and Charles Eaton, 'dated' 1006 A.D. [No Reserve]

Received from the curator of Leeds Museum by descent, circa mid 1980s.
Ex property of a Yorkshire lady.
From the private collection of a Cheshire, UK, gentleman.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

See Mitchiner, M., Medieval Pilgrim & Secular Badges, London, 1986, p.278-9; cf. similar examples in: The British Museum, Museum of London, Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, Department of British Archaeology, Cuming Museum, Southwark.

"Billy and Charlies", also known as the Shadwell forgeries, refer to a very extensive series of fake antiquities made in Victorian London by William Smith (Billy) and Charles Eaton (Charley). They were mudlarks who searched the Thames for items of value. William Edwards, a London antique dealer, made Billy's acquaintance around 1845, and he met Charley some years later. He paid them for items of interest that they found. Billy and Charley earned money from this until 1857, when they decided to counterfeit antiquities. They cast objects from lead or pewter, cutting dies into plaster of Paris moulds with nails and knives, and bathing the finished items in acid to simulate aging. Their commonest products were medallions, but others included daggers, statuettes, ampullae and even small shrines; as they were both illiterate the inscriptions on many of the objects are nonsense. They sold their forgeries to very prominent collectors of the time who thought they were genuine. Eventually, due to the large volume of objects that were appearing on the market, they were arrested and tried at court though they could not be found guilty of any crime at the time. They were released and carried on producing fakes but their style of manufacture had become well known and they eventually disappeared from history.