diff --git a/simvue/api/objects/artifact/fetch.py b/simvue/api/objects/artifact/fetch.py
index 80a48312..67aab36d 100644
--- a/simvue/api/objects/artifact/fetch.py
+++ b/simvue/api/objects/artifact/fetch.py
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ def from_run(
 
     @classmethod
     def from_name(
-        cls, run_id: str, name: str, **kwargs
+        cls, run_id: str, name: str, force_overwrite: bool = False, **kwargs
     ) -> typing.Union[FileArtifact | ObjectArtifact, None]:
         """Retrieve an artifact by name.
 
@@ -125,11 +125,20 @@ def from_name(
             the identifier of the run to retrieve from.
         name : str
             the name of the artifact to retrieve.
+        force_overwrite : bool, optional
+            if duplicates are detected force download
+            the first match, default of False
+            will raise an exception
 
         Returns
         -------
         FileArtifact | ObjectArtifact | None
             the artifact if found
+
+        Raises
+        ------
+        RuntimeError
+            when duplicate artifacts are found within a single run
         """
         _temp = ArtifactBase(**kwargs)
         _url = URL(_temp._user_config.server.url) / f"runs/{run_id}/artifacts"
@@ -144,7 +153,7 @@ def from_name(
         if _response.status_code == http.HTTPStatus.NOT_FOUND or not _json_response:
             raise ObjectNotFoundError(_temp._label, name, extra=f"for run '{run_id}'")
 
-        if (_n_res := len(_json_response)) > 1:
+        if (_n_res := len(_json_response)) > 1 and not force_overwrite:
             raise RuntimeError(
                 f"Expected single result for artifact '{name}' for run '{run_id}'"
                 f" but got {_n_res}"
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_file_artifact.py b/tests/unit/test_file_artifact.py
index 0c778d17..8127d2c5 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_file_artifact.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_file_artifact.py
@@ -175,3 +175,48 @@ def test_file_artifact_creation_offline_updated(offline_cache_setup, caplog, sna
     _run.delete()
     _folder.delete()
 
+
+@pytest.mark.api
+@pytest.mark.online
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "force_overwrite", (True, False),
+    ids=("allow_overwrite", "raise_exception")
+)
+def test_download_duplicate_artifact(force_overwrite: bool) -> None:
+    _uuid: str = f"{uuid.uuid4()}".split("-")[0]
+    _folder_name = f"/simvue_unit_testing/{_uuid}"
+    _folder = Folder.new(path=_folder_name)
+    _run = Run.new(folder=_folder_name) 
+    _folder.commit()
+    _run.commit()
+
+    with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False, suffix=".txt") as temp_f:
+        _path = pathlib.Path(temp_f.name)
+        with _path.open("w") as out_f:
+            out_f.write(f"Hello World! {_uuid}")
+        for _ in range(2):
+            _artifact = FileArtifact.new(
+                name=f"test_file_artifact_{_uuid}",
+                file_path=_path,
+                storage=None,
+                mime_type=None,
+                metadata=None,
+            )
+            _artifact.attach_to_run(_run.id, "input")
+            time.sleep(1)
+
+    if force_overwrite:
+        assert Artifact.from_name(
+            run_id=_run.id,
+            name=f"test_file_artifact_{_uuid}",
+            force_overwrite=True
+        )
+    else:
+        with pytest.raises(RuntimeError):
+            Artifact.from_name(
+                run_id=_run.id,
+                name=f"test_file_artifact_{_uuid}",
+                force_overwrite=False
+            )
+    _run.delete()
+    _folder.delete()