4 Simple Ways To Authenticate Your Venetian Mask
How to tell if you're buying genuine masks made in Venice and not something cheap & nasty. Read more to ensure you are getting exactly what you are paying for!
Cheaper Venetian imitations can be very hard to spot but the dead give-a-way is they sell at a much lower price and occasionally they are passed off as authentic Venetian masquerade masks. If you choose to buy a mask at a lower rate then you really do get what you pay for and some are made from just plastic. It is of course up to the individual to decide what is the most important thing to them (and of course the type of occasion, masked ball, fancy dress party etc) the quality or the price.
What to look for…..
1: THE PRICE
Lower prices often means lower production costs and cheap materials, therefore fake. But remember they might still try to lure you into believing and paying the equivalent of a genuine mask.
2: CERTIFICATE OR STAMP
A simple ink stamp of authenticity may point to the mask being a counterfeit but also may be genuine if its wax etc. Venetian Masks with certificates (tags) of authenticity from the manufacturers are more likely to be genuine and filigree masks with the name of the maker on the ribbon is a good sign too.
3: THE RETAILER/SHOP
Do you get silly offers that sounds too good to be true? Buy one get one (or two) free etc? Use your common sense, ask the shop/seller where they get the masks from (most will say if they have nothing to hide). Ebay is another area to be careful of, some are genuine sellers, others not so much.
4: THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL
To confuse matters more, sometimes a Venetian mask artisan may use a moulded mask base and hand paint/decorate it (which is still genuine). Then there is paper pulp and paper strips - pulp is cheaper to produce and often is a slightly lower cost product, whereas strips are far more time consuming therefore expensive to make…..Again ask the seller and see if they will tell you which they sell.
OUR MASKS
It is our policy to only supply genuine masks made in Venice and, to ensure you get exactly what you pay for - whilst still keeping our prices very competitive, you may well feel they are expensive but the time involved is worth it.