Hello - I have a question that I would like to pose to this list for discussion. I am not a museum professional but am curious about this topic. I was reading an article recently where a confessed forger was completely detailing a forgery operation and identified certain paintings in some prominent museums which were from the operation. Some museums took the pieces in question and determined that they were indeed of modern origin. The interesting part was one director made the comment that obviously it was authentic because what else could it be. To him it was authentic because it looked authentic. There are plenty of instances (like the Getty's kouros) where authentication is made by stylistic evaluation and not scientific examinations. My question is simply what is the role of the lab in a museum? The opinion of the lab obviously carries different weight from institution to institution, but what about 'industry-wide'. Thanks George -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- George Mansoor Cal State Northridge Internet : [log in to unmask] Business Affairs Systems - BMGT 818.885.4509