Moses Shapira

Moses Wilhelm Shapira (* 1830 in Kamjanez - Podilskyj; † March 9, 1884 in Rotterdam) was antique dealer in Jerusalem. He was involved in forgery scandals of Moabite artefacts in the 19th century.

Life

Moses Wilhelm Shapira was born in 1830 as the son of Polish Jews. In 1856 he emigrated to Jerusalem and converted to Protestantism. He opened a trade in antiquities for tourists who he bought from Arab locals.

In the wake of the discovery of the Mesha stele appeared on the antiquities market of Jerusalem, numerous forgeries Moabite works of art on the so-called Moabitica. Also Shapira was involved in these fakes. Since at that time were missing objects of comparison, the forgery was initially undetected. Especially German archaeologists bought Moabitica to compensate for the loss of Mesha Stele of France and Great Britain.

As a first doubted Charles Clermont- Ganneau (1846-1923), who had excavated Gezer the authenticity of the Moabite finds. This opinion was also shared by Emil Kautzsch. Shapira defended his artifacts as genuine, against the resistance of the researchers. He continued his trade, but resorted to the sale of Hebrew manuscripts from Yemen.

Shapira 1883 offered to the British Museum in London 15 scrolls with pieces from Deuteronomy, including the Ten Commandments, for one million pounds sterling to. The fragments were exposed after a thorough investigation by Christian David Ginsburg as fakes. However, only after two of the scrolls have been presented in a major exhibition.

After this scandal Shapira traveled through Europe and eventually committed suicide on March 9, 1884 at Hotel Bloemendaal in Rotterdam suicide with a firearm.

Aftermath

The scrolls Shapira were auctioned off in an auction at Sotheby's for 10 Guineas. They were ultimately destroyed by fire. The fakes Shapira still exist in many museums, but are rarely issued.