The Rospigliosi Cup

The Rospigliosi Cup (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City), sometimes referred to as the Cellini Cup, is a decorative ornament, in gold and enamel, previously attributed to Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571) now known to be a forgery of nineteenth-century manufacture.

It is believed that the Rospigliosi Cup was created by Reinhold Vasters, a German goldsmith who worked in Aachen from 1853 to 1890. Vasters is now believed to be the sole author of many pieces that had previously been attributed as masterpieces of Renaissance jewellery.

So closely did Vasters Rospigliosi Cup resemble Cellini’s style it is unlikely that the forgery would ever have been caught if his preliminary sketches had not been found. Vasters was both a highly skilled artisan, as well as a master of replicating another artist’s style precisely. It was not until the Rospigliosi Cup was taken apart that it became clear that the cup had been assembled in ways that were not available until Vasters's own time.

The Rospigliosi Cup is shown in Figure 2 of [http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/objects_conservation/fall_2002/define.asp Met Objectives: Defining Authenticity by Richard E. Stone]

References

[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502EEDC123BF931A25751C0A962948260 "As Long As Men Make Art, the Artful Fake will be with Us" New York Times, February 12, 1984.]