Is it Real?

Many of our customers ask us about the authenticity of our products, how do we know it's real or ancient or from where we say it's from. So as a general reply we're writing this brief article to answer these types of questions, and to put your mind at ease and give confidence to purchase any item listed on our website, knowing that it's as good as gold.

1. The source of the piece.

The first step in verifying the authenticity of a piece is knowing the source, also known as provenance. A trusted dealer is most important in providing solid information about the piece you're buying, especially when you're buying antiquities and antique ethnic art and jewelry.

A dealer handles many pieces, both real and reproductions, and develops the skill needed to recognize a fake instantly. Dealers also share knowledge about sources and alert each other if a bad product appears in the market.

A good dealer will answer any and all of your questions and will freely share information with you. An honest dealer greatly appreciates educated buyers. After all, if you're selling good products you want people to be able to recognize it.

An honest dealer will also stand behind the product they sell, some will allow a certain time period for you to take the item and inspect it, show it to an expert or your local museum and return the piece if your research results are not favorable. Never buy from a dealer that doesn't guarantee the authenticity of their items.

2. The materials used and the craftsmanship.

This is like detective work, sometimes knowing the materials and tools available at a certain time period is all you need to know to determine if a piece is authentic or not. For example, a supposedly ancient Egyptian silver artifact was listed on eBay for $9.95.Ý Aside from the fact that NO ancient artifact of any time period could possibly be priced so low, silver was very rare in ancient Egypt. Even King Tut could only afford to have very few silver pieces in his collection.

3. Reference Material.

Reference books, articles and other authoritative sources of information are crucial. Take the time to look up some of the books in your local library regarding your area of interest. The web has very valuable information about almost any subject. A little knowledge goes a long way.

When you buy from Nofert.com, you have our Unconditional Guarantee of Authenticity, which means that any item you buy from us matches it's description or we'll take it back for a full refund.