John Rogers Statuary Authenticity Check List
We divide this page into two parts: identifiable attributes of authentic Rogers Statuary that have to do with how they are made and identifiable attributes that have to do with how well they are made which we then can compare to the fakes. Thus, one is provided assistance in determining whether or not a particular example of Rogers Statuary one examines is authentic or not.[1]
Attributes of an Authentic Example of a John Rogers Group
We provide below a number of criteria that can assist one in determining the authenticity of an example of Rogers Statuary. Sometimes one criterion can prove to be quite conclusive. Other times it may be the case that no one criterion is conclusive. In such instances one is well advised to make a judgment on the basis of weighing what several criteria indicate.
A. Substantive Attributes--having to do with composition and construction
1) The plaster used is soft and light relative to mid-twentieth and current standards.
2) The plaster used has a pinkish or creamy off-white hue. Also, once assembled[2], an example received a light yellowish-white wash coat prior to being painted in order to seal its surface of bubbles in the plaster.
3) Being of relatively soft plaster and consisting of assembled castings it was necessary for Rogers to embed armatures in the castings when they were poured. These armatures, made of steel, acted like rebar reinforcing the example so it would not fracture under its own weight when handled.
These substantive attributes provide one set of keys to assessing the authenticity of an example of Rogers Statuary since the fakes for the most part, possess different attributes.
Indicators of Inauthenticity with regard to Substantive Attributes
1') The plaster in the fakes is tougher, harder, and heavier than the plaster in the authentic pieces. Fakes outweigh authentic pieces by 2-5 pounds depending on the example's size. We will soon update this page by publishing the weights of the authentic examples that have been faked. There is an obvious caveat to depending on the criterion only, however. One does not necessarily find oneself in situations where both Rogers Statuary and a scale are present and if a scale should be present one may have no way of knowing whether or not it is properly calibrated plus there is the added complication that from one example to the next of a given group, the amount of plaster Rogers used was not precisely standardized.
2') The plaster of fakes is stark white with little evidence of a wash coating. If one can find a chip or spot of paint loss one should be able to then determine hue of the plaster or if a wash coat is present.
3') Given the greater hardness, toughness, and density of the plaster in the fakes, they have fewer armatures if any at all. The fakes we have come across don't have any with two exceptions.[3] Therefore, one can use a magnet that when passed over an example of Rogers statuary will detect attraction points where the armature lies beneath the surface. If the example is authentic there should be numerous detection points. This is about as close as one can get to a single test that is foolproof in determining the authenticity of an example of Rogers statuary. Note, however, that the magnet should be strong having a three pound pull at least. Refrigerator magnets will not do. A molybdenum magnet is ideal. They are small (some as small and the shape a good sized prescription or over-the-counter drug tablet), inexpensive, a powerful. Usually, they cannot be purchased except as several at a time. So they can be put together to increase the attractive force. Caveat: one should have a way of separating the magnet(s) from piece without risking damage to the piece. Attaching the magnets first to let us say, a 3"-4" steel rod (something that can be gripped and easily fashioned will do the trick)--anything that the attraction between it and the magnets is greater than the attraction between the magnets and the buried armature.[4]
B. Appearance Attributes--having to with quality of execution
Rogers, very early in his career, began making his casting molds from bronze masters because the master would not degrade with the repeated making of molds from it. The statuary produced from such molds while exceptionally crisp for being plaster, will not ever be as crisp as the master because while authentic, its examples are still copies of something else, the master, and the medium, plaster, does not lend itself to high detail.[5]
Indicators of Inauthenticity with regard to Appearance Attributes
Fakes on the other hand, are copies of copies. They are castings from molds taken off of copies albeit authentic ones. Thus, fakes lack the crispness of detail authentic examples have. Making a judgment as to what is authentic and what is not can be a bit on the subjective side because the differences are not necessarily "glaring" distortions. There are, however, "tells" that help.
The lettering in Rogers Statuary is immaculate and stately. The bases are immaculate also, almost "machined" looking in appearance with straight 90˚ sides. With the fakes, the lettering is uneven and looks unprofessional and the sides of the base are not necessarily straight but have what appears to be a slight bulge to them.
The indicators of inauthenticity with respect to the Appearance Attributes we presented above show up particularly well in our link to a page of Wounded To The Rear... images where we compare an example of a "real" Wounded To The Rear...[6] to a fake (1980's vintage) one. As we assemble more images of fakes that are helpful, we will post them on this sub-page. And if you, our guest and visitor, have any to add to this sub-page that you might think helpful to all concerned, do not hesitate to reach out to us through our contact page.
Footnotes:
[1] Note that the indicators of inauthenticity K&G Enterprises provides here are advisements only and because of logistic impracticalities cannot therefore, establish any feasible fiduciary relationships.
[2] Examples of Rogers Statuary consisted of anywhere from three to as many as ten castings. This was necessary mainly because of the number of "undercuts" in the finished piece.
[3] One exception was Football which appears to have one armature which one can detect in the trailing right foot of the player on the right whose head is being pushed down by the ball carrier. The other exception was a Council Of War with damage to Grant's head that revealed remnants of a wire coat hanger inside. There were, however, other issues with this example that we can address in the next section of this check list, "Appearances".
[4] Occasionally, one will find portions of an example with severe cracks and/or plaster losses in appendages of a figure. Often these occurrences are caused because rusting armatures expand and damage the casting from the inside. Rust stains may be present with these occurrences. While the damage is unfortunate, it does indicate that the example is authentic.
[5] This is one reason why Rogers Statuary is so remarkable. The high detail he achieved is itself remarkable in its own right notwithstanding the intricacies of construction and positioning of his statuary. For example, for about the first half of his career, a single hole for both iris and pupil sufficed in depicting the eye. By the 1880s, one could distinguish the iris from the pupil in many of his groups where the pupil was the (very small) hole as with, e.g., Wrestlers.
[6] An authentic Wounded To The Rear... weighs ~20-22 lbs, depending on the amount of plaster Rogers used for any one example.
Attributes of an Authentic Example of a John Rogers Group
We provide below a number of criteria that can assist one in determining the authenticity of an example of Rogers Statuary. Sometimes one criterion can prove to be quite conclusive. Other times it may be the case that no one criterion is conclusive. In such instances one is well advised to make a judgment on the basis of weighing what several criteria indicate.
A. Substantive Attributes--having to do with composition and construction
1) The plaster used is soft and light relative to mid-twentieth and current standards.
2) The plaster used has a pinkish or creamy off-white hue. Also, once assembled[2], an example received a light yellowish-white wash coat prior to being painted in order to seal its surface of bubbles in the plaster.
3) Being of relatively soft plaster and consisting of assembled castings it was necessary for Rogers to embed armatures in the castings when they were poured. These armatures, made of steel, acted like rebar reinforcing the example so it would not fracture under its own weight when handled.
These substantive attributes provide one set of keys to assessing the authenticity of an example of Rogers Statuary since the fakes for the most part, possess different attributes.
Indicators of Inauthenticity with regard to Substantive Attributes
1') The plaster in the fakes is tougher, harder, and heavier than the plaster in the authentic pieces. Fakes outweigh authentic pieces by 2-5 pounds depending on the example's size. We will soon update this page by publishing the weights of the authentic examples that have been faked. There is an obvious caveat to depending on the criterion only, however. One does not necessarily find oneself in situations where both Rogers Statuary and a scale are present and if a scale should be present one may have no way of knowing whether or not it is properly calibrated plus there is the added complication that from one example to the next of a given group, the amount of plaster Rogers used was not precisely standardized.
2') The plaster of fakes is stark white with little evidence of a wash coating. If one can find a chip or spot of paint loss one should be able to then determine hue of the plaster or if a wash coat is present.
3') Given the greater hardness, toughness, and density of the plaster in the fakes, they have fewer armatures if any at all. The fakes we have come across don't have any with two exceptions.[3] Therefore, one can use a magnet that when passed over an example of Rogers statuary will detect attraction points where the armature lies beneath the surface. If the example is authentic there should be numerous detection points. This is about as close as one can get to a single test that is foolproof in determining the authenticity of an example of Rogers statuary. Note, however, that the magnet should be strong having a three pound pull at least. Refrigerator magnets will not do. A molybdenum magnet is ideal. They are small (some as small and the shape a good sized prescription or over-the-counter drug tablet), inexpensive, a powerful. Usually, they cannot be purchased except as several at a time. So they can be put together to increase the attractive force. Caveat: one should have a way of separating the magnet(s) from piece without risking damage to the piece. Attaching the magnets first to let us say, a 3"-4" steel rod (something that can be gripped and easily fashioned will do the trick)--anything that the attraction between it and the magnets is greater than the attraction between the magnets and the buried armature.[4]
B. Appearance Attributes--having to with quality of execution
Rogers, very early in his career, began making his casting molds from bronze masters because the master would not degrade with the repeated making of molds from it. The statuary produced from such molds while exceptionally crisp for being plaster, will not ever be as crisp as the master because while authentic, its examples are still copies of something else, the master, and the medium, plaster, does not lend itself to high detail.[5]
Indicators of Inauthenticity with regard to Appearance Attributes
Fakes on the other hand, are copies of copies. They are castings from molds taken off of copies albeit authentic ones. Thus, fakes lack the crispness of detail authentic examples have. Making a judgment as to what is authentic and what is not can be a bit on the subjective side because the differences are not necessarily "glaring" distortions. There are, however, "tells" that help.
The lettering in Rogers Statuary is immaculate and stately. The bases are immaculate also, almost "machined" looking in appearance with straight 90˚ sides. With the fakes, the lettering is uneven and looks unprofessional and the sides of the base are not necessarily straight but have what appears to be a slight bulge to them.
The indicators of inauthenticity with respect to the Appearance Attributes we presented above show up particularly well in our link to a page of Wounded To The Rear... images where we compare an example of a "real" Wounded To The Rear...[6] to a fake (1980's vintage) one. As we assemble more images of fakes that are helpful, we will post them on this sub-page. And if you, our guest and visitor, have any to add to this sub-page that you might think helpful to all concerned, do not hesitate to reach out to us through our contact page.
Footnotes:
[1] Note that the indicators of inauthenticity K&G Enterprises provides here are advisements only and because of logistic impracticalities cannot therefore, establish any feasible fiduciary relationships.
[2] Examples of Rogers Statuary consisted of anywhere from three to as many as ten castings. This was necessary mainly because of the number of "undercuts" in the finished piece.
[3] One exception was Football which appears to have one armature which one can detect in the trailing right foot of the player on the right whose head is being pushed down by the ball carrier. The other exception was a Council Of War with damage to Grant's head that revealed remnants of a wire coat hanger inside. There were, however, other issues with this example that we can address in the next section of this check list, "Appearances".
[4] Occasionally, one will find portions of an example with severe cracks and/or plaster losses in appendages of a figure. Often these occurrences are caused because rusting armatures expand and damage the casting from the inside. Rust stains may be present with these occurrences. While the damage is unfortunate, it does indicate that the example is authentic.
[5] This is one reason why Rogers Statuary is so remarkable. The high detail he achieved is itself remarkable in its own right notwithstanding the intricacies of construction and positioning of his statuary. For example, for about the first half of his career, a single hole for both iris and pupil sufficed in depicting the eye. By the 1880s, one could distinguish the iris from the pupil in many of his groups where the pupil was the (very small) hole as with, e.g., Wrestlers.
[6] An authentic Wounded To The Rear... weighs ~20-22 lbs, depending on the amount of plaster Rogers used for any one example.