China Shuts Down Museum of Fakes
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A museum in Jizhou, China, has been shuttered after some of its thousands of “ancient” items have been outed as fakes.
Some of the items were laughable forgeries, reports the BBC, including a vase purportedly dating back to the Qing dynasty that featured modern cartoon characters on it.
The Jibaozhai Museum in Erpu village, Jizhou, appeared legit to tourists and many locals alike, until Beijing-based writer Ma Boyong blogged about some of the items he spotted therein.
The museum cost millions to build, and so far the manager is denying the money was misappropriated. He’s told the Shanghai Daily that, “even the gods cannot tell whether the exhibits are fake or not.”
State authorities disagreed, and yanked the establishment’s license to operate after Ma’s pictures made the museum a laughingstock.
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