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How does a composite art forgery differ from an exact copy of an existing artwork?

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kouros — Art fraud Kouros of uncertain provenance, formerly on display with the label “about 530 bc or modern forgery,” dolomitic marble; in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Villa Collection, Malibu, California.

In the context of art fraud, both exact copies and composite forgeries are methods used to deceive, but they differ significantly in their construction and detection:

Exact Copy: This involves creating a direct duplicate of an existing, recognized artwork. While often the easiest type of forgery to produce, it is also typically the easiest to detect because the existence of a known original allows experts to compare the two and identify which is the authentic piece.12
Composite Forgery: Also known as a pastiche, this method involves combining various elements—such as figures, heads, or objects—taken from different genuine works by an artist to form an entirely new composition. The forger may add connecting elements to create a cohesive presentation. This approach is generally more difficult to detect than an exact copy because it creates a "new" work that mimics the artist's style and borrows familiar motifs, which can be highly deceptive since genuine artists often reuse elements from their own previous works.2

In some cases, composite forgeries may also involve using genuine, damaged antique parts combined with modern additions to create a complete, fraudulent object.2