diff --git a/shade/openstackcloud.py b/shade/openstackcloud.py
index 28737975e..332ea5167 100644
--- a/shade/openstackcloud.py
+++ b/shade/openstackcloud.py
@@ -2546,7 +2546,8 @@ class OpenStackCloud(object):
             md5=None, sha256=None,
             disk_format=None, container_format=None,
             disable_vendor_agent=True,
-            wait=False, timeout=3600, **kwargs):
+            wait=False, timeout=3600,
+            allow_duplicates=False, **kwargs):
         """Upload an image to Glance.
 
         :param str name: Name of the image to create. If it is a pathname
@@ -2578,6 +2579,8 @@ class OpenStackCloud(object):
                           true - however, be aware that one of the upload
                           methods is always synchronous.
         :param timeout: Seconds to wait for image creation. None is forever.
+        :param allow_duplicates: If true, skips checks that enforce unique
+                                 image name. (optional, defaults to False)
 
         Additional kwargs will be passed to the image creation as additional
         metadata for the image.
@@ -2603,12 +2606,15 @@ class OpenStackCloud(object):
                 container_format = 'bare'
         if not md5 or not sha256:
             (md5, sha256) = self._get_file_hashes(filename)
-        current_image = self.get_image(name)
-        if (current_image and current_image.get(IMAGE_MD5_KEY, '') == md5
-                and current_image.get(IMAGE_SHA256_KEY, '') == sha256):
-            self.log.debug(
-                "image {name} exists and is up to date".format(name=name))
-            return current_image
+        if allow_duplicates:
+            current_image = None
+        else:
+            current_image = self.get_image(name)
+            if (current_image and current_image.get(IMAGE_MD5_KEY, '') == md5
+                    and current_image.get(IMAGE_SHA256_KEY, '') == sha256):
+                self.log.debug(
+                    "image {name} exists and is up to date".format(name=name))
+                return current_image
         kwargs[IMAGE_MD5_KEY] = md5
         kwargs[IMAGE_SHA256_KEY] = sha256
         kwargs[IMAGE_OBJECT_KEY] = '/'.join([container, name])
diff --git a/shade/tests/functional/test_image.py b/shade/tests/functional/test_image.py
index 8a08abbf4..a2f17a2f9 100644
--- a/shade/tests/functional/test_image.py
+++ b/shade/tests/functional/test_image.py
@@ -69,3 +69,60 @@ class TestImage(base.BaseFunctionalTestCase):
         self.addCleanup(os.remove, output)
         self.assertTrue(filecmp.cmp(test_image.name, output),
                         "Downloaded contents don't match created image")
+
+    def test_create_image_skip_duplicate(self):
+        test_image = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False)
+        test_image.write('\0' * 1024 * 1024)
+        test_image.close()
+        image_name = self.getUniqueString('image')
+        try:
+            first_image = self.demo_cloud.create_image(
+                name=image_name,
+                filename=test_image.name,
+                disk_format='raw',
+                container_format='bare',
+                min_disk=10,
+                min_ram=1024,
+                wait=True)
+            second_image = self.demo_cloud.create_image(
+                name=image_name,
+                filename=test_image.name,
+                disk_format='raw',
+                container_format='bare',
+                min_disk=10,
+                min_ram=1024,
+                wait=True)
+            self.assertEqual(first_image.id, second_image.id)
+        finally:
+            self.demo_cloud.delete_image(image_name, wait=True)
+
+    def test_create_image_force_duplicate(self):
+        test_image = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False)
+        test_image.write('\0' * 1024 * 1024)
+        test_image.close()
+        image_name = self.getUniqueString('image')
+        second_image = None
+        try:
+            first_image = self.demo_cloud.create_image(
+                name=image_name,
+                filename=test_image.name,
+                disk_format='raw',
+                container_format='bare',
+                min_disk=10,
+                min_ram=1024,
+                wait=True)
+            second_image = self.demo_cloud.create_image(
+                name=image_name,
+                filename=test_image.name,
+                disk_format='raw',
+                container_format='bare',
+                min_disk=10,
+                min_ram=1024,
+                allow_duplicates=True,
+                wait=True)
+            self.assertNotEqual(first_image.id, second_image.id)
+        finally:
+            if first_image:
+                self.demo_cloud.delete_image(first_image.id, wait=True)
+            if second_image:
+                self.demo_cloud.delete_image(second_image.id, wait=True)