The answer: When a work is an edition or an authorised impression. Editions can be made of photographs, prints and sculptures.

The question of whether an edition can be considered an original work of art has been in the news because of an ongoing lawsuit in the courts here.

Last month, local businessman David Eng bought The Thinker statue from Opera Gallery in Ngee Ann City, believing it was an original piece. He paid US$1 million (S$1.5 million) for the sculpture.

The Thinker, by the late French sculptor Auguste Rodin, depicts a man sitting in thoughtful contemplation, his chin supported by his fist and his arm propped on his knee.

It is one of Rodin's most famous sculptures.

Mr Eng sued the gallery when he discovered that the statue was neither 'an original work' nor the only piece for sale as stated by the gallery.

But the gallery says the businessman knew the sculpture is a posthumous limited edition reproduced by a Parisian art gallery.

A court decision on the case is not expected till the end of this month.

Ms Stephanie Fong, director of Fost Gallery, an art gallery in Kim Yam Road, explains that an edition refers to the 'maximum or limited number of impressions made of an artwork'.

Art galleries that Life! spoke to say the number of editions can vary from as few as five to thousands or more pieces.

In the art world, editions are considered original pieces of art.

In the case of The Thinker, there are 24 original statues, which were cast by the Rodin Museum. But in 1998, the Sayegh Gallery in Paris obtained the consent of Rodin Museum to cast 25 posthumous editions of The Thinker.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times' Life!