Enhancement or not?

[txlobopod]

Howdy!
 

I’ve recently inherited a small amount of money, which I intend to spend on a high quality fossil. Merry Christmas to me! (I’m sure my Mom would approve…)

 

I’ve always wanted a Solnhofen dragonfly. Attached are a couple photos of a specimen of interest, identified as Aeschnogomphus. I’ve requested UV photos if possible of specimen, which is in Europe.
 

I know it’s essentially all real. But is there artistic enhancement? 
Seller says no repair, but can’t say whether it has been enhanced.

It is very, very expensive, a once in a lifetime purchase. Probably a good investment. But perhaps too expensive to buy online…From someone I don’t know…

I can provide website name or link if allowed on this Forum.
 

I also have my eye on a Burgess Shale fossil as an alternative, authenticity guaranteed, from a very reputable guy I’ve purchased from before.

 

Any thoughts at all would be much appreciated. Cheers!

 

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

This looks like an absolutely horrible 100% fake monstrosity to me, I'm afraid. 

[JohnJ]

2 hours ago, txlobopod said:

I can provide website name or link if allowed on this Forum.

 

Please note that all comments about sellers/dealers or links are prohibited.

[txlobopod]

@Tidgy's Dad Seriously, 100% fake? Well, I thought I had a better eye than that, guess not…thanks.

[Kane]

I would be careful about acquiring a Burgess shale fossil given legal restrictions.

[piranha]

This presentation is typical for many Solnhofen insects. These preparators feel compelled to outline the specimen and apply paint or varnish because of the limited contrast between the fossil and the surrounding matrix.

[Randyw]

I’m afraid I gotta go along with @Tidgy's Dad on this one. Theres several red flags at least to my eye when I compare it to other dragonfly fossils that are authentic…..

[piranha]

Research the Crato dragonflies if you want a specimen without the inherent issues associated with the Solnhofen fossils.

[txlobopod]

@Randyw Thanks. Piranha mentioned outlining and coating. Same for you, or other red flags?
 

What about authenticity of veination?

 

Regardless, doesn’t seem promising, guess I’ll just move on to something else….
 

I really, really appreciate y’all’s input, saving me from buying an expensive dud. Thanks again!

[txlobopod]

@Piranha Thanks for the suggestion, will do.

[Tidgy's Dad]

Yes, outlining and coating with varnish or paint is common enough, but I still think the body is carved and the head, antennae and limbs are decidedly faked. 

The veination on the wings also looks unlike genuine specimens that I have seen. 

Check images online for yourself. 

I stand by my original statement that this is completely fabricated. 

[txlobopod]

@Tidgy's Dad Again, thanks for your help! Next time I’m in Fes, I’ll buy you lunch! (Don’t laugh too hard, I’ve already been to Fes twice. Although I wandered around on my own throughout the Medina of Marrakech, I didn’t do so in Fes. It’s so big I was afraid I’d get lost. But what a wonderful city and country!)

[Tidgy's Dad]

1 hour ago, txlobopod said:

@Tidgy's Dad Again, thanks for your help! Next time I’m in Fes, I’ll buy you lunch! (Don’t laugh too hard, I’ve already been to Fes twice. Although I wandered around on my own throughout the Medina of Marrakech, I didn’t do so in Fes. It’s so big I was afraid I’d get lost. But what a wonderful city and country!)

Yes, Marrakech is a nice enough medina, apart from all the motorbikes that are banned in Fes Medina, but we are the largest pedestrianized urban area in the world and I'd be happy to show you the sites. 9,600 streets and alleyways and no map shows them all. 

[FranzBernhard]

4 hours ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

happy to show you the sites. 9,600 streets and alleyways and no map shows them all.

One lunch will not last for this! Be prepared, @txlobopod!

 

Anyways, real fossil or not - I definitely don´t like that outlined stuff. If this is done with a real fossil, it may not be completely destroyed scientifically, but - for me - completely destroyed aesthetically.

 

Franz Bernhard (with a very special taste and humor)

[Randyw]

“Randyw Thanks. Piranha mentioned outlining and coating. Same for you, or other red flags?”

 

Tidgy’s dad mentioned several of them. The veination is wrong, the lack of segments in the head body etc, the way its flows from one part to another, it’s all just wrong. Its like comparing a gingerbread man cookie to a human body:  there's no segmentation, no bumps in the right places etc. Compare the flow of this piece to a real dragonfly you’ve probably seen. They aren’t smooth and one piece. They are made up of bumpy articulated bits…

a close look online at authentic ones will quickly demonstrate the differences.

This one just screams fake, ... at least for me…

[Tidgy's Dad]

1 hour ago, Randyw said:

gingerbread man 

I like this analogy. 

"Run,run as fast as you can,

You can't catch me, I'm a dodgy dragonfly."

 

I'm hungry now.

[txlobopod]

Many thanks to all who responded to my questions! 
 

For now, at least, I’ve gone in a completely different direction… 

 

My wife and I had lunch at a locally owned seafood restaurant yesterday. Darned good food, despite the dive vibes. I tipped the waitress what was probably many, many times the amount of her usual tip, much more than the meal itself, and wrote “Merry Christmas” on the receipt. Before we got out of the parking lot, the waitress ran up and knocked on our car window. She was crying, and said, “This was such a blessing, you don’t know how much I need this.”

 

I felt better than I could possibly have felt if you had given me my own T-Rex. My daughter calls me a 500 dollar millionaire.

 

Cheers to all, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, health and peace to you and yours!