FAKE art and antiquities created by Bolton forger Shaun Greenhalgh are to be put on display at the world famous Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Greenhalgh achieved global infamy when one of his most intricate pieces — the Amarna Princess, bought by Bolton Council for £440,000 — was revealed as a fake.

Now, the statue could form the centrepiece of a new exhibition which will attract top experts from the art world.

But the Metropolitan Police are only holding the exhibition to raise awareness about fraud.

Det Sgt Vernon Rapley, of the Met Police's Arts and Antiques Unit, said: “We need to raise awareness of fakes and forgeries and the issues surrounding it to try to prevent crime in the future.

“Hopefully, by making people more aware of the dangers they face and the methods used, people will be able to protect against it.”

Det Sgt Rapley was tight lipped on the exact content of the exhibition which will open to the public at the Victoria and Albert Museum on January 23.

But he said that “a number of items” created by Shaun Greenhalgh would be put on display and that the Amarna Princess is likely to be used by the museum to advertise the exhibition.

Det Sgt Rapley also said that it was still a possibility that Bolton Council could have the statue back.

However, it would only be on a temporary basis and would depend on whether the current exhibition goes on a tour of the country.

“We have already got interest in a possible tour. If we can overcome that issue and agree terms then we would be amenable to it,” he said.

The statue was passed off as a family heirloom bought in a sale of items belonging to the Earl of Egremont in 1892 and sold to Bolton Council after being authenticated by experts at Christie’s auction house and the British Museum, who believed it was around 3,300 years old.

It was revealed as a fake in 2006.

Greenhalgh, currently serving a four-year jail term, has only ever spoken publicly to The Bolton News when in January this year he expressed regret for causing embarrassment to Bolton Museum and Art Gallery and backed the possible return of the statue to his home town.

Greenhalgh emulated the work of history’s most revered artists and sculptors from the small home he shared with his elderly parents in The Crescent, Bromley Cross.

It took him just three weeks to make the Amarna Princess which stood proudly in Bolton Museum for two years.

Concerns over the authenticity of the alabaster carved figure were first raised in March, 2006, when the British Museum reported the arrival of a suspicious Syrian sculpture.

The Amarna Princess was subsequently closely examined, and found to be fake.

Greenhalgh, aged 48, was jailed in 2007 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

Investigations revealed he and his parents had cheated numerous art institutions over the course of 17 years, faking work by LS Lowry, Bolton-born artist Thomas Moran, and artist and sculptor Paul Gauguin.

Police says dozens of forgeries may still be in exhibitions across the world.

pkeaveny@the boltonnews.co.uk