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Series 7: 5. Giacometti

Twentieth-century sculptures are hot property in the art market, with Giacometti's Pointing Man figure selling for $141m at auction in New York in 2015, making it the most expensive sculpture ever sold. Could a stark, white square of plaster that has been passed down through an English family with art world connections be one of Giacometti's earliest and most daring works?\n\nThe quest to discover the history of the sculpture, known as The Gazing Head, leads the team to the bohemian world of 1930s Paris, where artists and intellectuals rubbed shoulders in cafes and studios. Can the team find any proof that the owner's grandmother acquired the sculpture from Giacometti during the time she spent studying and modelling in the city? If it's genuine, the sculpture could be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, but there's a problem - it was once knocked over by a cat and broken into several pieces. The team hope that a high-tech CT scan might reveal more about the damage it has sustained during its life and even yield clues about its origins.\n\nThe trouble is, proving the authenticity of sculptures is notoriously difficult as works are often produced in multiple editions - and can be easy to replicate. As the investigation unfolds, the team travels to Germany to find out how police broke up a forgery ring that churned out thousands of fake Giacometti pieces. The final decision lies with the Giacometti Committee in Paris - and this could be one of the most complex cases they've ever considered.

Source: BBC 1