TY - CHAP A1 - Rabin, Ira A1 - Hahn, Oliver A2 - Michel, C. A2 - Friedrich, M. T1 - Detection of Fakes: The Merits and Limits of Non-Invasive Materials Analysis T2 - Studies in Manuscript Cultures N2 - This paper addresses the sensitive issue of authenticating unprovenanced manuscripts of high monetary value to certify they are genuine. Over the last decade, the popularity of material studies of manuscripts using non-destructive testing (NDT) has increased enormously. These studies are held in especially high esteem in the case of suspicious writings due to the methodological rigour they are reputed to contribute to debate. We would like to stress that materials analysis alone cannot prove that an object is genuine. Unfortunately, audiences with a humanities background often tend to disregard the technical details and treat any published interpretation of instrumental analysis as an objective finding. Four examples are outlined here to illustrate what questionable contributions the natural sciences can make in describing manuscripts that have actually been forged. PB - Walter de Gruyter GmbH CY - Berlin/Boston KW - Fakes KW - Non-invasive analysis KW - Limitations PY - 2020 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-bam/frontdoor/index/index/docId/51720 AN - OPUS4-51720 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-517202 SN - 978-3-11-071422-7 SN - 2365-9696 VL - 20 SP - 281 EP - 290 AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany