For nearly two decades, until he was jailed in 1974, a master Mexican ceramist plied his trade, crafting hundreds of pieces. So skillful were his interpretations of what is known as the monumental Veracruz style of the late Classic period (from 600 to 900 AD) that experts deemed his sculpture authentic pre-Columbian art. His skill landed him in jail not for forging but for trafficking in antiquities, a crime in Mexico of which he was eventually exonerated. The ceramist's skill is still causing reverberations. Over time his convincing works found their way into major public and private collections around the world. They were often reproduced in textbooks and catalogs as fine examples of pre- Columbian art from the Veracruz area of Mexico. And they would have remained labeled as authentic antiquities had the 47-year-old ceramist Brigido Lara not broken his silence in an interview with two reporters from Connoisseur magazine. As a result, museums and collectors began ...