Chalcatzingo Monument 9: The repatriation of a major Olmec monument

 

Chalcatzingo Monument 9

In early April it was announced in the press that the government of Mexico had negotiated the return of a major Olmec sculptural relief, known as Chalcatzingo Monument 9. Chalcatzingo is an archeological site in the state of Morales which is dates to the early first millennium BCE, and has a number of other significant Olmec monuments.  The piece depicts the earth monster with an open quatrefoil mouth, which is carved through creating an opening. The piece is 1.8 meters, about 6 feet, high and was carved into a large boulder, which was flat or cut down at some point. I have never seen an image of the back to indicate which. 

This is a rare example of a major artistic monument being repatriated to Mexico. The news is full of pieces being repatriated, but very rarely are they significant. This piece is undeniably important. I have known of this piece for years as it is cited in articles and books for its depiction of the earth monster and the quatrefoil opening of its mouth. This quatrefoil is an important element of Meso-American art and architecture. As such, this monument is one of the earliest depictions of it and is considered a formative piece. 

It is unknown when or how this monument, which weighs nearly a ton, left Mexico and came to the US, where it was in a college museum collection. Interestingly, the name of the college or museum is never given in the announcements of this return. I gleaned it was from Colgate College, but have not been able to track down more confirmation of that. I find this odd, it is as if that information is being suppressed, perhaps the institution doesn't want it know that it had the piece at all. The return is being arranged by the Antiquities Tracking Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. It is unclear where the piece is now, wether in New York or in the place from which it will be transferred. 

This is an example of a piece that should go back to Mexico, in contrast to many of the claims being made on pieces that add nothing to the Mexican cultural heritage and are of negligible artistic or historic  significance. Not every potsherd and minor object needs to come back, the storerooms of the museums are already full of them with multiple examples. This monumental relief however, is singular, and of great significance, I celebrate its return to Mexico and look forward to seeing it in person.

The absurdity of Provenance

This jade ceremonial axe, called a Yue, from the Neolithic period in China sold at the latest "Important Chinese Art" sale at Sotheby's NY, for over one million dollars including fees and commissions. Below is the link to the catalog:

 A jade blade at Sotheby's

It is only 7 1/4 inches long, and while beautiful with its varied color, translucent green and opaque white altered areas, it is not that exceptional. I have owned many as good or better and sold them for a tiny fraction of the price achieved in this auction. The reason for the price is only the provenance, it is said to have an ownership history traceable to the 1950's, and lastly belonged to the "Guennol" collection, the collection of Alistair Bradley Martin and Edith Martin. They did collect some amazing objects, most famously, the Guennol Goddess, (here is a link  Guennol goddess, ) that sold for a record breaking 57 million dollars. 

Photo of Guennol Goddess from Sotheby's

The Martins were buying when things were more available, and they bought very well, purchasing some exceptional pieces, which they then loaned them to museums, legitimizing them. The goddess was on loan to the Brooklyn museum for decades and was a piece I visited on every time I went there. I was distressed when it disappeared from view and then sold at auction. No one knows where it went, it is said to some middle eastern oil monied collection.  However, in contrast to this piece, I feel the high price was justified by the uniqueness and beauty of the piece. This blade is not unique, there are many such ritual jade blades on the market and it is not exceptional of type. In fact it is rather small, I have seen and owned, others larger and of equally or more beautiful jade. There were and are no parallels for the Goddess, there are many others for the blade. 

This sale, almost more than any other in recent years, illustrates the absurd importance of the story around an object being more important than the piece itself. If it had come from a less famous collection, it would have sold for a small fraction of the price. The problem with valuing the story around a piece, rather than the piece itself, is that absent the story, with only the object in front of you, what do you have? The price would indicate that this is an exceptional, rare and paramountly beautiful piece. It is none of those things. It is good of kind, but not exceptional. The Guennol Goddess on the other hand is sin pari, without equal. 

When I started working in antiquities for the revered dealer, Matthias Komor, his advice to me was to look with my eyes and not my ears. It is now the reverse today with the story around the piece is more important than what you see with your eyes. In the future, an object such as this, when the pendulum swings back to valuing the piece returns, this blade will just be a jade ritual blade, whereas the Guennol Goddess will remain a unique and important piece.