Real or fake? That is a question we ask ourselves more and more often. The exhibition. Misleiden - Fakes in art and science brings together over more than twenty works from nine Leiden collections, dating from different centuries and originating from all over the world. All of them, in their own way, put you on the wrong track. They imitate a rare material, object or animal. They show the art of copying, have a religious function or bring a political message into the spotlight. Together, these objects make it clear: deception is a profession.

With works from the collections of Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Rijksmuseum Boerhaave, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Museum Volkenkunde, Japanmuseum SieboldHuis, Leiden University Libraries, Erfgoed Leiden, the Netherlands Institute for the Near East (NINO) and Museum De Lakenhal.