The statue was subsequently exposed as a forgery and the forgers were taken to court by the Metropolitan Police Art and Antiques Unit in 2007. The forgers were found guilty and the Art Fund recouped a large proportion of its grant in 2008. The judge stressed that no one should be blamed for wrongful attribution as they were very skillful forgers and the provenance was a critical part of the forgeries.

Provenance

The provenance has been exposed as a forgery.