Hello Teresa,

To my thinking the distinction between "Original" and "Authentic" is this:

"Original" means that some aspect or in whole part belongs to the creation of
a material artifact, object, building, monument, or site. Some parts of an
artifact, object, etc. may have been altered or repaired during it's life - this
is the rule rather than the exception. In that case is the entire object
still seen as "Original"? At what point would it be considered not "Original"?

Interesting questions!

"Authentic" means that something is materially rendered to be "real", or is
rendered in the spirit of something. I think of reproductions as "Authentic"
but certainly not "Original" - although reproductions of a certain age are often
considered "Original" in their own right - such as Wegewood's reproduction of
the Portland Vase.

Often Historic buildings and artifacts are complex mixtures of these two
things. An "Original" building may be "restored" in an "authentic" fashion (though
it may have electric and water service added).

In my profession of conservation we often discover these differences during
our examinations of artifacts, objects, buildings, etc. And it can affect our
recomendations as to how to approach the treatment of a piece. Different
specialties in conservation have different ethos in regards to this. A furniture
conservator may replace feet or hardware that was a later addition, essentially
"restoring" the furniture to it's "Original" appearance. While an ethnographic
conservator, when presented with a similar alteration, let's say to a native
american artifact, may well leave it in place. I think that a similar dialectic
takes place in curatorial thinking - among the various specialties in that
field.

It is always a matter of judgement informed by philosophy that takes place in
these decisions - and there is never a totally right answer.

I would be very interested to hear the thoughts of others on this.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Artifacts
2930 South Birch Street
Denver, CO  80222
303-300-5257
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