tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10932312961473580522024-03-11T21:53:35.101-07:00Tom Swope's blogon art, and interesting things I see and or am doing.Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-65812846181237908442023-07-19T15:06:00.004-07:002023-07-22T16:55:11.822-07:00Aké, a little known site and how it relates to Merida.<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKjJH8h2RZ0EhTKXFhIiIxLfIR1DVYLz0GekIjBNVTHbNNRa8kojOD07XtfdyBGOQgS9q0MJGkl-qvEBjYLieNIaVFqdTosX9I4PjhxdDOA6MDppLOeXgmaonfda4ToZS23sZTE_WD8Q8M47l2o_1wWjnMYayB8OB_e5UWrX-X8AF4KQy-BREApqWMa2DC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="2838" data-original-width="3784" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKjJH8h2RZ0EhTKXFhIiIxLfIR1DVYLz0GekIjBNVTHbNNRa8kojOD07XtfdyBGOQgS9q0MJGkl-qvEBjYLieNIaVFqdTosX9I4PjhxdDOA6MDppLOeXgmaonfda4ToZS23sZTE_WD8Q8M47l2o_1wWjnMYayB8OB_e5UWrX-X8AF4KQy-BREApqWMa2DC=w400-h300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: arial;">View of Hacienda Aké</span> </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have only recently discovered the little known, and under appreciated, Mayan site of Aké, which is about an hour from Merida to the east. I have heard of it before, but it was closed during the pandemic, as were all the archeological sites here, and was very late to reopen. While what is visible is not a large area and its lack of renown could lead one to think Aké was a minor Mayan city, the ruins themselves tell a different story; they speak of glory and power. Currently located in a small tipical Yucatecan village, and I mean small, which has an open plaza in front of a hacienda which is built by, on top of, and among the remaining ruins. Fronting the open green plaza is the main hacienda house flanked on one side by the remains of a rather tall and steep pyramid.</span> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlgdsyoR42AFqaNVWkYKhtUIV0VB57zEMTQJ6OG8BpbLqSfx0_2-mDYOrckOUaQ2OQ70VGQ80XZWzY7DMezhmvnGgv2RW_Yv2FjEpRr9YiKBnHCPCbxOqNNVhGr-MRzvx4fuRs6UL7tg9noOPrCV-eeItONbOpo2ibgynpEX7GAcGpaiwIemSxoKZvPzKN"><img data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhlgdsyoR42AFqaNVWkYKhtUIV0VB57zEMTQJ6OG8BpbLqSfx0_2-mDYOrckOUaQ2OQ70VGQ80XZWzY7DMezhmvnGgv2RW_Yv2FjEpRr9YiKBnHCPCbxOqNNVhGr-MRzvx4fuRs6UL7tg9noOPrCV-eeItONbOpo2ibgynpEX7GAcGpaiwIemSxoKZvPzKN=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Between the pyramid and the main hacienda house is a small chapel, built on top of another Mayan pyramid. You can see through the trees around it, that behind it and the hacienda house, are more ruined buildings, and all of this is before you come to the main archeological site another 100 yards away. Just before the entrance is an impressive long low platform behind a fence, which is not open to the public, but part of what must have been a grand Mayan city. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Calibri; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMPqvCcthw2Bt0x7hg8RO8sKUSobh9EwGbaXy2uDdKDIA6h7h8n2rSzKYJJBuReRjb1sRzsyOGweq06sT9P2DXONdhfcdoiN3thwaUx4ZcTGTSak4c2j6ePNeLw08JZkjFRfnJSMLSO5f-fah1Agm-srBypCy9IVO9wqtvQgMAnFRjiJ-X3RKGEtOto2YI" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiMPqvCcthw2Bt0x7hg8RO8sKUSobh9EwGbaXy2uDdKDIA6h7h8n2rSzKYJJBuReRjb1sRzsyOGweq06sT9P2DXONdhfcdoiN3thwaUx4ZcTGTSak4c2j6ePNeLw08JZkjFRfnJSMLSO5f-fah1Agm-srBypCy9IVO9wqtvQgMAnFRjiJ-X3RKGEtOto2YI=w400-h300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Platform visible from the parking area</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFrF164QDGWktk4AO6417ver_OctMYDkzL3zFkrYM38eHnYzy4sNsHKJAH4MjKzjZsr6MSyz8UIpnhyLcvGfFbYxqa3ygUkBW5BY1v5ddu-W5rwjph-NSPxIAJR_Fhn0ljXvWGG8MjWzAwwzy34mu-muw1NKlIcfgF7MWB5Oz_T9DV8JRaZOK0ib0gNNKF" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFrF164QDGWktk4AO6417ver_OctMYDkzL3zFkrYM38eHnYzy4sNsHKJAH4MjKzjZsr6MSyz8UIpnhyLcvGfFbYxqa3ygUkBW5BY1v5ddu-W5rwjph-NSPxIAJR_Fhn0ljXvWGG8MjWzAwwzy34mu-muw1NKlIcfgF7MWB5Oz_T9DV8JRaZOK0ib0gNNKF=w400-h300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Large pyramid after the entrance</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Just after the entrance, there is a large multi-stepped pyramid of some size and height, made of large stone blocks, megalithic construction, with the stonework to support large god masks which would have been finished in thick stucco. The pyramid has rounded corners like the massive platform at Izamal. The scale of the god masks, and the large </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">cyclopean </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">blocks date this temple to the pre-Classic period, about 200 A.D. Meso-American pyramid temples are layered, and hard to read when in semi restored condition as this one is. On one side are protruding platforms, which leads me to think that maybe there was another pyramid constructed on top of the pre-Classic one. This is certainly the case in other sites, but I don't know enough about Aké. </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgG0kZuu-9bZfMKL0vcC40MCz4IRLvLSWchYP87Th7e1AKihpvJuZB4Y8WXxbpnhemScGybQFo9_XLVhG7sI5rDDQgDLe9OlAXdz_99boItxUy9v3YAVJXllLPQ8l_puYRypF-WXB7pE_hWYWjVv2lrI7AvmuYD68si-wnYLVVffKf9_xOZ7muEPevU05wR" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgG0kZuu-9bZfMKL0vcC40MCz4IRLvLSWchYP87Th7e1AKihpvJuZB4Y8WXxbpnhemScGybQFo9_XLVhG7sI5rDDQgDLe9OlAXdz_99boItxUy9v3YAVJXllLPQ8l_puYRypF-WXB7pE_hWYWjVv2lrI7AvmuYD68si-wnYLVVffKf9_xOZ7muEPevU05wR=w400-h300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">The Palace</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></span></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfhya9F0rjzQMltWwMJWXgIRPBfL_9LRkOgRzvq1Q-tO9XOWR5L1-_hcgr_WOYeEf6DQlFBv42qMTKsfbEcgku_RAGv_KexIocCE3pFnd4eUMWBds17_xuknA__49jm7hB_5KW0v4pwJ8wqWTS2hGjaHJz6lMFwaF3h8Mqyw6PXn-fEYm7l8Zu8U3SvOx_" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjfhya9F0rjzQMltWwMJWXgIRPBfL_9LRkOgRzvq1Q-tO9XOWR5L1-_hcgr_WOYeEf6DQlFBv42qMTKsfbEcgku_RAGv_KexIocCE3pFnd4eUMWBds17_xuknA__49jm7hB_5KW0v4pwJ8wqWTS2hGjaHJz6lMFwaF3h8Mqyw6PXn-fEYm7l8Zu8U3SvOx_=w400-h300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">View of the Palace and the steps of large blocks</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The most photographed and emblematic structure at Aké is this long platform topped by columns, which is referred to as The Palace. While it is more likely a temple rather than residence, the name is a handy way to distinguish it from the other structures. Wide and low, this building is deceptive. Upon approach, you realize the large size of the blocks it is constructed of are truly cyclopean. What appears to be a low platform is higher than one thinks, and it takes effort to scale the steps, </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">which are difficult to climb, and must have been very challenging in antiquity given the average size of the Mayans. The columns on top are in fact quite large and rather tall and they must have supported a roof of wood, much like the forest of columns at Chichen Itza. </span><br /></span></span></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizs9WuF6Jeb5218I-v5erNPpgiSjCiJ-PgejjOTIRatHNJ0rnuYz6_M0yp032SS9a_wBiIVFXQjOaV9ED1cL_4sTNgLm7TCLKFhhWhepeFl1C0SGqrnIX6TrP_bNCcib5wB50M3GlqLg6K-FT9gVCdB2p8k-mRnVoi77roXntQQ7Gzh16Dm7wPF1HXeK_w" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEizs9WuF6Jeb5218I-v5erNPpgiSjCiJ-PgejjOTIRatHNJ0rnuYz6_M0yp032SS9a_wBiIVFXQjOaV9ED1cL_4sTNgLm7TCLKFhhWhepeFl1C0SGqrnIX6TrP_bNCcib5wB50M3GlqLg6K-FT9gVCdB2p8k-mRnVoi77roXntQQ7Gzh16Dm7wPF1HXeK_w=w400-h300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">View from top of the Palace</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>From the top of the Palace is a view of the plaza, where to the right is the large pyramid and beyond that can be seen another tall forested mound, which is is another large pyramid, still awaiting restoration. The verdant forest surrounding the site no doubt hides many other structures, for this was a major Mayan city in antiquity.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Calibri; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdpKuZ8LLgm6C1UysKHFGJwyZj4Tgg1S90eKnNvQW2XxwARxEl6BkJ-r0wshsTLVI1ZZg3h321D_zdf9UdzG0NDPoRS4uJ_RYs21x5Lf5hskyIHsvK3JwCPFS5qT236cijuT05JrtJFv6G7ZwO7XyJLKzknjlOJYWppB6Ha6WXC9ajnEZxJkqzWkhkID9l" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdpKuZ8LLgm6C1UysKHFGJwyZj4Tgg1S90eKnNvQW2XxwARxEl6BkJ-r0wshsTLVI1ZZg3h321D_zdf9UdzG0NDPoRS4uJ_RYs21x5Lf5hskyIHsvK3JwCPFS5qT236cijuT05JrtJFv6G7ZwO7XyJLKzknjlOJYWppB6Ha6WXC9ajnEZxJkqzWkhkID9l=w400-h300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Some of the large stone blocks of the early period of construction</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoa1N6bFR32TqoqrcWpIUIeWCJG5hAqmBRTV6vG24iiRIvK-cfglmATe1j2jWDMQRYoQITcfsqDvCmPDlBU9V7eV3xbIZVo8WLyZsIpF5-i7KyCUeoNJdP5X7a_heQsOwHqirM5ttL9lH9cseK7VcjR1Lbgz_Ur0GOuyRFUGG1c-MlsbOzSoC6Bi_bflic" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="2809" data-original-width="3745" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjoa1N6bFR32TqoqrcWpIUIeWCJG5hAqmBRTV6vG24iiRIvK-cfglmATe1j2jWDMQRYoQITcfsqDvCmPDlBU9V7eV3xbIZVo8WLyZsIpF5-i7KyCUeoNJdP5X7a_heQsOwHqirM5ttL9lH9cseK7VcjR1Lbgz_Ur0GOuyRFUGG1c-MlsbOzSoC6Bi_bflic=w400-h300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">The third platform temple of the main plaza</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />The ruins atAké reveals a long history, from the early pre-Classic megalithic structures to later classic and post classic structures such as the third temple platform flanking the main plaza which is constructed of smaller blocks. This rises in sharply defined levels with a central staircase leading to the top. Without ornament surviving, it is hard to date, but the style of construction indicates that it is likely post classic, up to 1350 or 1400 A.D. <br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You might ask why I would pay so much attention to one of the “lessor” Mayan sites. One reason I am so interested in Aké is precisely it is of manageable size and therefor easy to explore and not crowded. In fact the two times I have been there it has been completely empty except for me and the man at the entrance. But what is compelling about Aké are the layers of history evident. The early Classic temples of megalithic construction, along with the later Classic and post classic structures, and the Colonial hacienda built in, over and around them. The scale of the larger structures is impressive, and are reminiscent of Izamal and in fact, it is thought it was affiliated with it, or even a tributary of Izamal. There is a sacred road, sac-be, connecting Aké and Izamal, and the style of megalithic construction and rounded corners of the structures is similar. </span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Another reason I find Aké so interesting is that I feel it provides clues as to what the Mayan city of T’ho, where Merida was built on and off, would have been like. Of that city, nothing remains, but it was said that it had 5 large “cerros”, hills, which were the remains of pyramid temples. The Spanish took down the ancient constructions for the material to build their own churches and buildings, without recording what was there. Deducing what they would have encountered originally is very difficult, but a site like Aké may give an idea. The surviving structures at Aké date from the formative pre-Classic, 2<sup>nd</sup> Century A.D., to post-Classic, which is 1000 A.D. to the 14<sup>th</sup> Century. It is thought by some that it was inhabited up to the conquest or abandoned just a few years before it. What was there at the time of the Spanish is hard to know and it became the site of a hacienda during the Colonial period. The hacienda is still active and henequen is still being grown and processed there. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>When I first moved to Merida, and was reading about it, one fact I came across stuck that with me, is that it has been continuously inhabited for over 2,000 years. I don’t recall where I saw that, but when you are at a site like Aké where the earliest surviving structures come from the 3<sup>rd</sup> Century A.D., one can imagine people were living there for a while before they were constructed. And in fact the earliest Mayan structures at other pre-classic sites were not of stone but of rammed earth, as the Olmecs used at their cities. These would not have survived or were subsumed under later constructions, which is typical for meso-American cultures. Thus when looking at a pyramid in Mexico, almost always the one we see today covers an earlier one, and that another one earlier yet. Sometimes later archeologists remove the later construction as it often suffered badly from the effects of time, revealing an earlier temple protected under it. There are layers of history here. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>In Catherwood and Stephen’s seminal book, “Incidents of Travel in the Yucatan", published in 1843, they relate that the plaza grande in Merida was where the main pyramid temple of the original Mayan city was, and the Spanish took it down for the stone to build the cathedral just to the east of it. In fact Stephens was told there was so much stone, that the entire city was built from this one pyramid. This likely exaggerates the amount from that one pyramid, but between it and the others that were originally here, there would have been enough. The slightly raised platform of the plaza grande is what remains of the original pyramid. This makes sense to me, as these raised areas, which we see in Merida in many of the plazas before the churches, represent an enormous amount of material and work and are most likely traces of Mayan platforms or pyramid bases. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Calibri; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWSZnIOG29XTvvJegetTE-EFml0aLtvbz01Z9_EQgegiLXpVESlDkDJ9IB5_q6artRgGjI-94i0U1AMcpVd9c0DAtSX8CuBYdsFtd2Rbbh-CxswTab0zoDi-IELgP5Fmc07uDNGtHZ2z1TytEYZmd0APm6vpCNwbowcLFswzg-QZULxo-8I_r5X0g2USKG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="2108" data-original-width="2108" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWSZnIOG29XTvvJegetTE-EFml0aLtvbz01Z9_EQgegiLXpVESlDkDJ9IB5_q6artRgGjI-94i0U1AMcpVd9c0DAtSX8CuBYdsFtd2Rbbh-CxswTab0zoDi-IELgP5Fmc07uDNGtHZ2z1TytEYZmd0APm6vpCNwbowcLFswzg-QZULxo-8I_r5X0g2USKG=w400-h400" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">The Cathedral of Merida</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Calibri; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKOi07ICUwf4cNxXx8yfJKO8h8nIfOdCYLZDV2LUjarWjEcmGWtPe7SxYWd2fi965swvLbaJd7rEjxDRrbcc269oDixca9gVBvonGmfp3hdysSxwUvPqXpsTwKTheTbf5SMe3eLp-lTetYBMKFvFxHfUwtYqDqyd_0hBq7mOuXuY48wmH0SPfaWg8jhVrw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKOi07ICUwf4cNxXx8yfJKO8h8nIfOdCYLZDV2LUjarWjEcmGWtPe7SxYWd2fi965swvLbaJd7rEjxDRrbcc269oDixca9gVBvonGmfp3hdysSxwUvPqXpsTwKTheTbf5SMe3eLp-lTetYBMKFvFxHfUwtYqDqyd_0hBq7mOuXuY48wmH0SPfaWg8jhVrw=w300-h400" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">View of interior of the Cathedral</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Calibri; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNTEPLWxp3h-ZKd8sJiBFXhX6f9t7A3VQ6VuB6Gawdn8YBl3FXxPBbIolflrPhR8OYwawT_RUjuVXMjyEJ0fMvIPROEstwYmDHcgI2tm1vAQfjhdGD_ceNjq8dqW4WjXWjTJsPmX0R7zsw6yMZjbT6wmbarm9kA-ddpXNve1QL34HzmV8Je7lzlC7sUI0q=w400-h300" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">View of interior of the cathedral and the support columns</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiNTEPLWxp3h-ZKd8sJiBFXhX6f9t7A3VQ6VuB6Gawdn8YBl3FXxPBbIolflrPhR8OYwawT_RUjuVXMjyEJ0fMvIPROEstwYmDHcgI2tm1vAQfjhdGD_ceNjq8dqW4WjXWjTJsPmX0R7zsw6yMZjbT6wmbarm9kA-ddpXNve1QL34HzmV8Je7lzlC7sUI0q"><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When looking at the exterior of the cathedral you can see the large and irregular blocks of stone on the corners, and on the interior the large stones used for the columns. These came from the original pyramid where the Plaza Grande is now. The large size of the stones are similar to those found in the temples at Aké and Izamal. Could this be a clue to what was originally here when the Spanish came? </span></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br /></span><br /></p><p></p>Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-48821685864620727852023-04-30T14:51:00.001-07:002023-04-30T14:51:53.609-07:00Chalcatzingo Monument 9: The repatriation of a major Olmec monument<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiWCwtsEptrcKTYd577paXV96UHns95RHFXrz-HQ9uMgZ_AA8AyPsWScdwXiv7Np6QQlzSyIXGraXZ-cDAHPhz21vjku5fZFRM8uVDVsRaiahnwcNg-4xycJihXqGY9Adb0ydi8qxbp6iiZZX39NFtEGJBwe0oaP9nqPD0JIIB83r3eplAglqOswBf6Q" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img data-original-height="817" data-original-width="710" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhiWCwtsEptrcKTYd577paXV96UHns95RHFXrz-HQ9uMgZ_AA8AyPsWScdwXiv7Np6QQlzSyIXGraXZ-cDAHPhz21vjku5fZFRM8uVDVsRaiahnwcNg-4xycJihXqGY9Adb0ydi8qxbp6iiZZX39NFtEGJBwe0oaP9nqPD0JIIB83r3eplAglqOswBf6Q=w349-h400" title="Earth Monster Relief" width="349" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Chalcatzingo Monument 9</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">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.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p>Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-4045412154479578332023-04-03T10:57:00.003-07:002023-04-07T11:25:38.419-07:00The absurdity of Provenance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWDbz3-Z1Ge1hBxF6s3O8C60thF1NZ_tuaN4tV-DrNtlv2ODFkQn57W3uN5bB3LC1v8FF3JvDrUkjhL0osMlzA7XtxfAD0Hw3t6GwpqyK6zIejP6HHnIn15vt-lHFTp_F7WYSSBC1FoJwHuX8SMUQK0pYgceBO4mnJ-_WBqYhj1y5qaA8OBko-bCHPw/s1304/the%20guennol%20jade%20blade%20Sothebys.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1304" data-original-width="978" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWDbz3-Z1Ge1hBxF6s3O8C60thF1NZ_tuaN4tV-DrNtlv2ODFkQn57W3uN5bB3LC1v8FF3JvDrUkjhL0osMlzA7XtxfAD0Hw3t6GwpqyK6zIejP6HHnIn15vt-lHFTp_F7WYSSBC1FoJwHuX8SMUQK0pYgceBO4mnJ-_WBqYhj1y5qaA8OBko-bCHPw/s320/the%20guennol%20jade%20blade%20Sothebys.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>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:</p><p> <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/important-chinese-art/the-guennol-archaic-jade-ceremonial-axe-yue?locale=en" target="_blank">A jade blade at Sotheby's</a></p><p>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 <a href="https://tomswope.blogspot.com/2007/11/antiquities-auctions-and-guennol.html">Guennol goddess</a>, ) that sold for a record breaking 57 million dollars. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Guennol_Lioness.jpg/480px-Guennol_Lioness.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="699" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Guennol_Lioness.jpg/480px-Guennol_Lioness.jpg" width="220" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of Guennol Goddess from Sotheby's</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-26857715294941295202022-09-09T14:09:00.001-07:002022-09-09T14:09:42.931-07:00Antiquities in the New York Times again.<p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJz39vQy6hxBpSbQ4bTP2dAYH3nCk6FDIeHtt_WamIgmKzdBBACRI04D9ZWgsfl5nkO9Lx_GcO4Q3fP8bX_A9H3Dbx8RwNHpCqDFjYLbLRn43Zhwl7P6E4aQ13trnHfBa0kEs2_913q6MMmEL-FseUggRSxWfOrdRnGnoYPTZay584iFXiHIKa-9uDTw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJz39vQy6hxBpSbQ4bTP2dAYH3nCk6FDIeHtt_WamIgmKzdBBACRI04D9ZWgsfl5nkO9Lx_GcO4Q3fP8bX_A9H3Dbx8RwNHpCqDFjYLbLRn43Zhwl7P6E4aQ13trnHfBa0kEs2_913q6MMmEL-FseUggRSxWfOrdRnGnoYPTZay584iFXiHIKa-9uDTw=w240-h320" title="Greek head of a youth from the 3rd Century B.C." width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span aria-hidden="true" class="css-jevhma e13ogyst0" face="nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(114, 114, 114); color: #727272; font-size: 0.9375rem; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.25rem; margin: 0px 7px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Investigators seized 27 antiquities from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including this marble head of a Greek youth dated to the third to second century B.C.</span><span class="css-1u46b97 e1z0qqy90" face="nyt-imperial, georgia, "times new roman", times, serif" style="border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(114, 114, 114); color: #727272; display: inline; font-size: 0.75rem; font-stretch: inherit; letter-spacing: 0.01em; line-height: 1.125rem; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="css-1ly73wi e1tej78p0" style="border: 0px; clip: rect(0px, 0px, 0px, 0px); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; height: 1px; line-height: inherit; margin: -1px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: absolute; vertical-align: baseline; width: 1px;">Credit...</span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span aria-hidden="false" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Metropolitan Museum of Art</span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/arts/design/met-museum-looting.html" target="_blank">Antiquities taken from the Met</a><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Once again, for the second time in three weeks, an article about antiquities being seized from the Met appears in the NYTimes. The last one was about Cambodian pieces being seized, this time it is classical and Egyptian. And once again pieces that were part of the public domain here in the US are being taken, and returned to the “country of origin” for an uncertain fate. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I recognize that looted antiquities is a problem in that it involves the destruction of archeological sites and loss of context, but I don’t think the best solution is what is being enforced here. First it makes targets of public museums, and takes out of public view objects that enriched the museum going public. When pieces are returned, they end up in smaller museums, if they are displayed at all, and very few people see them. Italy loves to have exhibitions of returned pieces, but after they end, where do they go? I have been around long enough to remember going to visit the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/19/arts/design/19bowl.html" target="_blank">Euphronius krater</a> at the Met, only to have it returned to Italy. When I went to the Etruscan Museum in Rome, I did see it again. However, this is a barely visited museum, and the vase had no special placement and was out of place there, as it is Greek and not Etruscan. So the vase went from a place of honor where it was seen by the many thousands of people who go through the Met each week, to a small museum which hardly anyone knows about. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I am not denying that the trade in antiquities has been a shady business, particularly in the 1970’s to 1990’s, and I saw much of that first hand in my early career as a dealer of ancient art. But I don’t like to see pieces taken off public view here. Italy and Egypt both have more art then they know what to do with, none of the pieces in discussion here add anything to their cultural patrimony. Anything that can be learned from them can be done in NY as well as Italy. As for the idea that stolen is stolen and things should be returned to the rightful owners, that works if you accept the premise that art belongs to the State and cannot be owned privately. Because that is the effect of these laws, that declare that everything found in the ground belongs to the government. That isn’t how that works here, where private individuals have ownership rights. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">As it the case of the Cambodian pieces at the Met, I think a better solution is to acknowledge the correct provenance, even transfer ownership to Italy or Egypt but to leave the pieces on view, on long term or permanent loan to the Met. If crimes were involved in how they reached the market and the museum, prosecute those, and go after the people who sold them. But let us not strip our encyclopedic museums here.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p><br /></p>Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-75600898764147855072022-08-25T14:42:00.001-07:002022-08-25T14:42:53.760-07:00The Metropolitan Museum and its Asian collection<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4iNuKiCfJlaORMSmhE6Plgdiy-u7SkrCaRNIi6O7VfOTcVmX8I0LrMOVX78WP3m2q4LVRskPz965VLCdHvA07putCwrWJO9LSELN3RO8FW2tfmUFCP62-ZiGjfAKUkwEz08ULVPLSdKRTTGF8lVQXgcrFOtnTsFyBahZ8OB0DoY7-oCi8vio9ALZig/s2048/00metstolen-grid-superJumbo-v3.jpg.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1927" data-original-width="2048" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4iNuKiCfJlaORMSmhE6Plgdiy-u7SkrCaRNIi6O7VfOTcVmX8I0LrMOVX78WP3m2q4LVRskPz965VLCdHvA07putCwrWJO9LSELN3RO8FW2tfmUFCP62-ZiGjfAKUkwEz08ULVPLSdKRTTGF8lVQXgcrFOtnTsFyBahZ8OB0DoY7-oCi8vio9ALZig/s320/00metstolen-grid-superJumbo-v3.jpg.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration from NYTimes article</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/arts/design/met-artifacts-cambodia.html?smid=url-share" target="_blank">NYTimes article on Cambodian objects at the Met</a></div><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/arts/design/met-artifacts-cambodia.html" target="_blank"></a><div><br /></div>
A very interesting article appeared in the New York Times on August 18th (the link is above) titled, "Cambodia Says it has found its Lost Artifacts: In Gallery 249 at the Met". Well yes, the Asian galleries at the Met are full of pieces from SouthEast Asia, including Cambodia. Given the attitudes of the time these pieces entered the museum, and the political chaos of the region which was then at war, we can be certain that many were were looted by todays standards. At the time, the entire antiquities market operated with little concern for the issue of cultural patrimony. Now a reappraisal is occurring, and the Asian collection at the Met is the focus here. <div><br /></div><div>The question is, this history happened, and what do we do about it now. The most common answer I read, is that stolen is stolen and to return everything. Unfortunately with ancient art, which is generally found in the ground, and has no ownership history before discovery, all of it could be considered stolen if the nations declare that all cultural property belongs to the state. Which is fine and good if you think we should atomize culture and have everything return to the nation of origin. But what an impoverished world that would be, we could only have American art here, and Western European art? Nothing from ancient cultures, not even from the Mediterranean world, let alone Africa, Asia and the the other Americas?
</div><div><br /></div><div>I wish there was more nuance to the discussion. As someone who loves encyclopedic museums, I don't want to see them disassembled but that seems to be what is happening, bit by bit. And who benefits from this, certainly not the people in New York or the United States, or the many people from around the world that come to see NYC and the Metropolitan Museum. The reason it is such an important museum is the diversity and depth of its collections. You can truly appreciate the range of human expression across time and from all over the world. My life has been dedicated to the appreciation of ancient art, and in more recent years, early Chinese Buddhist sculpture. To understand it, seeing Indian and Southeastern Asian sculpture puts it in perspective, something I could do visiting the Metropolitan Museum. The richness of the collection with the many examples available of these disparate cultures amplifies its educational quality. To strip away significant examples would diminish the museum and the experience. While I may be a rare bird, that is the whole point of an institution such as the Met, which is not catering to the lowest common denominator. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nowhere in the public discussion do I read about the value of encyclopedic museums, rather it is all about the provenance of the objects. Standards have changed since these collections were formed, which is something I will write about more fully in the future. But they exist now, and are in the public sector. They may not be owned by the public, but they are on public view and available to the public. In fact it is the visibility to the public that makes these museum collection an easy target for these ideologically driven investigators. </div><div><br /></div><div>I would like to have the value of encyclopedic museums acknowledged and balanced against the legitimate concerns about looted art. Maybe a solution could be to transfer ownership to Cambodia in this case and leave the pieces on view in the Metropolitan Museum on long term or permanent loan. In the rare case of a site specific object or one of such importance that it has no parallel in Cambodia, have them returned. The pieces in the museum can serve to promote Cambodia and inspire people to visit as well as educate people about the accomplishments of this amazing culture.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-73541104299419160322022-03-27T17:48:00.000-07:002022-03-27T17:48:49.297-07:00Mangrove swamps at Sayachaltun, an easy outing on the Gulf<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZBr7WOcmZtTEe6u336zPwCB0e6qsfmf6cA7LWo9ntITqcXWVteUQpmqBkf-y0-JLJRj-V6eDg76eiDrfQCQ24nw_25R6Q_sbRbDFxgDBdvIq4aHEwPPurdgaBHzfgZt9_9bTcsiCNWl3-ksren92l9tdJYob3tunnNosv_eqhOit5JMB0_OjqKxDTBg/s3625/1F377D71-2537-40CE-B164-9EF4622DDE11_1_201_a.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2719" data-original-width="3625" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZBr7WOcmZtTEe6u336zPwCB0e6qsfmf6cA7LWo9ntITqcXWVteUQpmqBkf-y0-JLJRj-V6eDg76eiDrfQCQ24nw_25R6Q_sbRbDFxgDBdvIq4aHEwPPurdgaBHzfgZt9_9bTcsiCNWl3-ksren92l9tdJYob3tunnNosv_eqhOit5JMB0_OjqKxDTBg/w400-h260/1F377D71-2537-40CE-B164-9EF4622DDE11_1_201_a.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Alex and I went on an outing, to the Reserva Ecologica Sayachaltun near Telchec Puerto on the Gulf Coast of the Yucatan close to Merida. I heard about it from a post that popped up on my feed on Instagram, no doubt a paid promotion, but it worked. Seductive photos of people in kayaks going into the mangrove swamps. There is a large area of them on the coast, just in from the beach, almost all along the coast around Progreso. One passes over them when driving to the beaches there, but I have not really seen them. Thus this idea of a tour appealed. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhG1Mur08pwcy2t7mZaS3vCkEOcEdasxeMm7vZBZTQMY61G5x7nKAqleem9LRULdWjj47Lj5tykWvzEKsG9SQDvoJ7V9oZZJ_8mCT54RgbtSabHU_iqkzdkkDzsktJLuWnCDTlJu3hzLdNlxVepYbDUJh1H5TgU5WRriQImpQoBCBBUeRv7XMsz-Mtw5Q" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhG1Mur08pwcy2t7mZaS3vCkEOcEdasxeMm7vZBZTQMY61G5x7nKAqleem9LRULdWjj47Lj5tykWvzEKsG9SQDvoJ7V9oZZJ_8mCT54RgbtSabHU_iqkzdkkDzsktJLuWnCDTlJu3hzLdNlxVepYbDUJh1H5TgU5WRriQImpQoBCBBUeRv7XMsz-Mtw5Q=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex on the boardwalk to the boats</td></tr></tbody></table><br />One passes through the restaurant, which is a typical beach place with thatched palapa roofing, and plastic chairs, but in the end, very good food. However that was after our tour. We opted for a gondola tour, which turned out to be wise. Under the thatched roof above is the dock, and there was a fiberglass boat with guide waiting. One good thing, no motors, the water is very shallow, and mostly clear when you get to the mangroves, and the guide stands in the stern of the boat, poling the boat forward. Thus, it was a nearly silent mode of transporting one through the reserve, and while birds and fish still were disturbed by our approach, we still got to see a lot of them. For me, most interesting, were the many puffer fish which I saw, of different sizes. Recognizable by their distinctive patterning and box like body when not inflated, I knew what they were from above but had never seen them in nature, only in books and films, or aquariums. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvd5F7TmP90R_hnwYTaAlbvrVuIFfhs92tbuzzqf_UTs08liJC-2UqnzxnClDZQckoPsi8JGPLvhDmWbZ45pSCc0hPLoqMgOeN4SgkdhlfiSfA9g9Ck2_2lrSNc3NoRlU1o5oW-XA2T3FKyA8QkDa7bI1DnswaECQjk5Fzo0-s3pEYCYc0frqkrBIpWw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhvd5F7TmP90R_hnwYTaAlbvrVuIFfhs92tbuzzqf_UTs08liJC-2UqnzxnClDZQckoPsi8JGPLvhDmWbZ45pSCc0hPLoqMgOeN4SgkdhlfiSfA9g9Ck2_2lrSNc3NoRlU1o5oW-XA2T3FKyA8QkDa7bI1DnswaECQjk5Fzo0-s3pEYCYc0frqkrBIpWw" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">not my photo, I could not capture a photo myself, they were too quick</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><br /></p>Above is a google images photo, as I could not take a photo myself, the fish were too quick for my iphone. It is not exactly the type I saw, but gives you an idea of how distinctive a pufferfish is, even not blown up. And of course, there were many other fish, of types I didn't know, and different sizes as one would expect. No big ones though, these shallow waters are mostly home to smaller fish.<p></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPXwYRq_hcofGLe0Njd-7zplmLXytlAj2hj8fWE8gbGlSkqYX4kbwMcm-ZkjesqBxX8TMvWkqSdlYbcchlSYK1Exi5uNSa4uj9yl5oYk4IwXJd3kAYmKLJhE7NLIHnelKnHbqFs_N4prOLpkBZCO1OlOo-d0bwBPr2ZPx5yNVwI_Ppqn-mqrTUJofc8Q" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjPXwYRq_hcofGLe0Njd-7zplmLXytlAj2hj8fWE8gbGlSkqYX4kbwMcm-ZkjesqBxX8TMvWkqSdlYbcchlSYK1Exi5uNSa4uj9yl5oYk4IwXJd3kAYmKLJhE7NLIHnelKnHbqFs_N4prOLpkBZCO1OlOo-d0bwBPr2ZPx5yNVwI_Ppqn-mqrTUJofc8Q=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going into the mangrove swamps</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Going from the lagoon into the swamp itself is to go into another world. With the help of the guide we saw small crabs which lurk in the trees themselves and colorful larger crabs on the edges. And of course lots of small fishes. The highlight was the Ojo de Agua, where we docked and walked along a short boardwalk to a clear pool with a strong upwelling of fresh water, the key to the Yucatan and the mangrove swamps. The geography of the Yucatan does not permit for rivers, all the water is underground and here in these cenotes and ojos de aqua, the water runs into the swamps, keeping them brackish. In fact, the abundance of fresh water allows some mangrove trees to grow taller, and one can see from a distance where a likely source of fresh water is by finding what appears to be a hill, but is rather a clump of tall trees in the midst of otherwise very low mangroves. From the guide I learned to identify the three types of mangroves, there are red mangrove, black mangrove and white mangrove. Each can be identified by their root structure. Otherwise, they appear the same, all have glossy green leaves, and look much alike. The white mangroves appear to be the ones capable of growing the tallest, but I only deduce that because they were tall around the Ojo de Agua that we visited. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAPlVID9_4_TR8X3eOw_B8qOUMkQAEzfkyO4LJ2k2Um1DMYgReMP_wNbWq3kEdfw9FgQkr3CI-XLSAENopY6Fq7LQuJC_p7nqeD-oOGMfL6z2LT1CAtY2L3u9lpY-XJwXOmOPb-iFuFdU9oj7ki4v8B0swHhytvX2kbIuNFl_8ZucckB8e_xt4UvNRcA" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjAPlVID9_4_TR8X3eOw_B8qOUMkQAEzfkyO4LJ2k2Um1DMYgReMP_wNbWq3kEdfw9FgQkr3CI-XLSAENopY6Fq7LQuJC_p7nqeD-oOGMfL6z2LT1CAtY2L3u9lpY-XJwXOmOPb-iFuFdU9oj7ki4v8B0swHhytvX2kbIuNFl_8ZucckB8e_xt4UvNRcA=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My feet dangling in the Ojo de Agua with the fish</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /></p><p>A very worthwhile and instructive outing about an hour outside of Merida. I was impressed by the guide's interest and commitment to the preservation and protection of the mangroves, as he spoke about it during the tour. </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin7GCmt85zKpeEVsnY6q0_XNTjeOnSiF8m-gaMZyKUo6DXW3eyIplOSLmmUMNYbYd7p8wKKiMsHZDUTgOqZPmTB0g72QXr3q89v8ZqbavdnSIpnVCWFGmFstKQazX5g2e7umxuwzlt6EJqI7kH1RQGdjmxrA7GYVpGTyRbehqKKEIVg3WDn747p6bIrg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin7GCmt85zKpeEVsnY6q0_XNTjeOnSiF8m-gaMZyKUo6DXW3eyIplOSLmmUMNYbYd7p8wKKiMsHZDUTgOqZPmTB0g72QXr3q89v8ZqbavdnSIpnVCWFGmFstKQazX5g2e7umxuwzlt6EJqI7kH1RQGdjmxrA7GYVpGTyRbehqKKEIVg3WDn747p6bIrg=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div>In the photo above you see two types of mangroves, on the right the red, which has root buttresses going down into the swamp around it, and on the left the black, whose auxiliary roots rise up out of the ground around the main plant. These auxiliary roots are the key's to the mangroves ability to survive in the salty water along the oceans edges. And they provide the structure that protects the fish, birds and animals that are abundant there, and protect the coast from storm surges and erosion. <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p>Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-36101009210516921142022-01-10T09:37:00.002-08:002022-01-10T09:37:56.909-08:00The murals in the Palacio de Gobierno de Yucatan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmmekvGPyAxOGgjJ2LNtWFj7lc3FxiyO3RMAWDdB-TIYFaB5vVVksCOn8C6bwBHbCdBo7OSKSHPl3mccpK2jR_fFwEFCOEt0-LXOI_iEfXqe45d_7FMMtcUwyEWMSoj1eq_xok-Vg1ZOAiha13AkGFAnLxIjr0OpO8zBBwfQc7aS3HlqPj6GzVxXZedw=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgmmekvGPyAxOGgjJ2LNtWFj7lc3FxiyO3RMAWDdB-TIYFaB5vVVksCOn8C6bwBHbCdBo7OSKSHPl3mccpK2jR_fFwEFCOEt0-LXOI_iEfXqe45d_7FMMtcUwyEWMSoj1eq_xok-Vg1ZOAiha13AkGFAnLxIjr0OpO8zBBwfQc7aS3HlqPj6GzVxXZedw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">After two years of being closed due to the pandemic, the Palacio de Gobierno on the Plaza Grande in Merida is now open. I have missed seeing the series of murals by Fernando Castro Pacheco painted in the 1970’s, and being able to share them with newcomers to Merida. These murals and the grandeur of the Palacio de Gobierno were pivotal in helping me understand Mexico and in making the decision to move here.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I grew up in the Southwestern US, in Arizona and New Mexico, and I spent much of my childhood on the Navajo and Hopi Indian reservations. We moved a lot when I was a child. I identified with the Indians, and aspired to be a Hopi Katchina dancer, memorizing their songs and dances when I was about 5 years old. I also wanted to be a medicine man. As a family, we made outings to natural and historic sites in the area, and one of the most memorable for me as that of Canyon De Chelly, a beautiful deep canyon with a level sandy bottom flanked by high sheer sandstone walls that has caves intermittently in the walls. These were used by the Navajos as places to hide from the white men who were at war with them, but they didn’t provide the refuge hoped for, the white men shot their guns into the openings of the caves and the bullets ricocheted off the walls, killing everyone inside the caves. This image was indelibly burned into my mind, that of the white men persecuting and killing the Indians. Therefore, when we were studying the history of the Americas in high school and read the story of the conquest by Bernal Diaz, I was smitten with a fascination and admiration for the Aztecs and the other Mesoamerican cultures of Mexico. Bernal Diaz writes that when the Spanish first crested the pass leading into the Valley of Mexico, they were awestruck by the vista before them. They saw the lush valley surrounded by mountains, and a large lake, surrounded by ordered cities. In the center of the lake they saw the splendor of Tenochtitlan, with enormous causeways leading to it across the waters of the lake. They had never seen anything like it and he wrote that it surpassed his ability to describe it, it appeared like a fairy tale to the Spaniards. I read everything I could about the Aztecs and Mayans, and regaled anyone who would listen to me, about the glories of these civilizations and reveled in the gory details of their sacrificial rites. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">But because of my love for the pre-Columbian civilizations, in my mind I could not embrace modern Mexico, or forgive the Spanish the destruction of these great cultures. It is one reason I didn’t travel to Mexico when I did begin to travel, going to Europe where lay the Roman Empire. However, friends and former neighbors of mine had moved to Mexico, to a city I had only dimly heard of and knew nothing about, Merida. I decided I should finally go see a Mayan ruin, and never imagined that I would fall in love with Merida and move here, as I now have. I stayed that first trip, in a hotel close to the Zocalo, the Mansion in Merida, and that first afternoon walked around the Plaza Grande. The Palacio de Gobierno was open until late into the evening so I visited it and saw the murals. They completely changed my mind about modern Mexico. They depict the pre-Hispanic Mayans with such pride, and describe the horrors of the conquest and subjugation of the indigenous people with brutal honesty. The murals are unapologetically socialist and political, which for me was refreshing to see. I can think of nothing comparable in the US, where in contrast we have denied the horrors of slavery and its role in our history. I realized I had misjudged Mexico, that while the conquest was one of humanities great crimes, the Mexicans recognized that, and efforts were made to acknowledge and atone for it. Mexico is a mixed nation where the Spanish interbred with the native peoples and the culture is a mix of both. Far from perfect, but at least they are seemingly honest about it. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I do think these murals are important to understanding the history of the Yucatan and that of Mexico, and missed being able to visit them and share them with friends who are visiting or new to Merida. I am happy they are open, and highly recommend going to see the murals to those who have not yet done so.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">To learn more: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Castro_Pacheco" style="color: #954f72;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Castro_Pacheco</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-41953448258680290272021-08-16T13:34:00.000-07:002021-08-16T13:34:17.178-07:00Afghanistan in the news and the danger to cultural patrimony. <p> I have not posted in a long time. Much has happened since then, some of which in my own life I will relate in another post. For this, I want to focus on one thing, the wisdom of returning pieces to unstable countries. </p><p>During Asia Week in New York of 2016, US marshalls raided several prominent dealers and confiscated sculptures they claim were looted. <a href="https://tomswope.blogspot.com/2016/03/asia-week-2016.html">https://tomswope.blogspot.com/2016/03/asia-week-2016.html</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdkEBf9LBnHMgk0hq08tLFqV_Mw-xjMZMDYRLPl2eHeeQWShOTwPavr5c6PuYFaeKiKeksKdqVJ1VTmggJNzU4PawfOsBJQX-PrDiLN-WldMASNgn5dGHy_eTJ8rihZ75EfIQQM5L7ceE/s2048/18SEIZE-superJumbo-v3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdkEBf9LBnHMgk0hq08tLFqV_Mw-xjMZMDYRLPl2eHeeQWShOTwPavr5c6PuYFaeKiKeksKdqVJ1VTmggJNzU4PawfOsBJQX-PrDiLN-WldMASNgn5dGHy_eTJ8rihZ75EfIQQM5L7ceE/s320/18SEIZE-superJumbo-v3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">US marshals taking away a sculpture purportedly from Afghanistan during Asia Week New York, 2019</div><p>One of the most prominent raid was on the Italian dealer, Dalton Somare, who was exhibiting at Valois Gallery. During that raid a large sculpture was seized under the claim that it had been looted from Afghanistan, supposedly to be returned to it. While we cannot and do not know the ultimate fate of the sculpture, the news of the past few days confirm my worst fears about this ham handed approach to cultural patrimony issues.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisiDUJ2KZYVzkpEGldyjicXpjaLdQud2l-hV6C0ubFkZPLMfY8FGlf63rJlsehYUKCq1wYgcupUe7gU5mE-3LWLgNYIPYIN00sVT5j1wwM8C2m6Fw8ZBlybbcarxXEGV4yClwiXK6wSojd/s2048/New+York+Times+front+page+August+16%252C+2021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1262" data-original-width="2048" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisiDUJ2KZYVzkpEGldyjicXpjaLdQud2l-hV6C0ubFkZPLMfY8FGlf63rJlsehYUKCq1wYgcupUe7gU5mE-3LWLgNYIPYIN00sVT5j1wwM8C2m6Fw8ZBlybbcarxXEGV4yClwiXK6wSojd/w466-h287/New+York+Times+front+page+August+16%252C+2021.jpg" width="466" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Front page of the New York Times August 16, 2021</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p>The worst has happened, the moment US troops withdrew, the Taliban retook the entire country without a fight. Being hard line Islamists, the Taliban are the enemies of all the arts, and will seek to destroy every trace of a pre-Islamic past, much as ISIS did in Iraq. Nothing in Afghanistan is safe, not the people, certainly not women, and any ancient art and sites are likely under threat. </p><p>The current approach to cultural patrimony issues is completely wrong, and no regard is given to the importance to our common human past. For the objects tell of a larger story than just the history of a particular country, they tell us about the exchanges between peoples and cultures over the centuries. Afghanistan was always a major meeting point between West and East, and the art from there tells the story of those exchanges. As such, it is of importance to more than just the people of Afghanistan, who today are of a completely different makeup from what they were centuries ago through the extensive migrations that have happened in the intervening years. </p><p>So what will the Taliban destroy next, and when? It isn't a question as to wether they will, but what and when. I am sure they will not be content with having already destroyed the largest Buddhist sculptures to have ever been created, those of Bamiyan. They now have the entire country to ravage.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0FR20Dnm6okQ7RjyEuICCPjJZcyaIF4SSYB8avAWd9HE2V4Jm1Ew33UmycTge7jquBGGoDSrI0IXOluzlU8lhSvvwyjCpIkMMITuaQqjwtEDJdYVCTaaiRtY85ttHfkuGv6kOLHTR-Kf/s1280/171121-bamiyan-buddhas-mc-913.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1280" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy0FR20Dnm6okQ7RjyEuICCPjJZcyaIF4SSYB8avAWd9HE2V4Jm1Ew33UmycTge7jquBGGoDSrI0IXOluzlU8lhSvvwyjCpIkMMITuaQqjwtEDJdYVCTaaiRtY85ttHfkuGv6kOLHTR-Kf/w433-h341/171121-bamiyan-buddhas-mc-913.jpeg" width="433" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The larger of the two Bamiyan Buddhas before their destruction by the Taliban in 2001</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><p><br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-19614711504112443032016-12-27T14:16:00.002-08:002016-12-27T14:16:13.620-08:00Palmyra in the news again<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDwspGl5zVIMQQNQGeOoMF7qJDYGKrZnW3XwB9qe-lH6Ieblt_EQKha8XpNd-ZQBkmB-yB1ej4nAISebXzTxFYlsEhcjl7ke00jhVEgG_nq9VcBA8X4Wfxu1lMfkzIxsVrHLeXl9ff8ms/s1600/Palmyra+from+the+Art+Newspaper+Dec-2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDwspGl5zVIMQQNQGeOoMF7qJDYGKrZnW3XwB9qe-lH6Ieblt_EQKha8XpNd-ZQBkmB-yB1ej4nAISebXzTxFYlsEhcjl7ke00jhVEgG_nq9VcBA8X4Wfxu1lMfkzIxsVrHLeXl9ff8ms/s1600/Palmyra+from+the+Art+Newspaper+Dec-2016.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Earlier this December, various media outlets reported that ISIS had retaken Palmyra. Other than a general expression of concern, no details were reported. Clearly this is a terrible thing for those who care about art, and our common cultural history. Here is a link to the article from the 12th of December: <br />
<a href="http://theartnewspaper.com/news/news/a-black-nightmare-palmyra-retaken-by-isil-militants-/" target="_blank">The Art Newspaper December 12, 2016</a><br />
<br />
The New York Times reported this as well, and a few days later, a strange small piece relating how the US destroyed 14 tanks left behind by the Syrian army when the ISIS retook Palmyra:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/16/world/middleeast/palmyra-isis-syria-tanks-russia-air-attack.html?_r=0" target="_blank">NY Times, US destroys tanks near Palmyra</a><br />
<br />
So the brief hope kindled when Palmyra was liberated from ISIS, has been crushed. Not only did the Syrian army lose Palmyra in the first place, they couldn't hold it, and their weapons were taken. The incompetence and impotence of the Syrian army has been proven once again. The U.S. bombed the tanks to keep them from being used against our allies in the area. <br />
<br />
<br />
Why does this matter, and why am I writing about this?<br />
<br />
There has been a great deal of talk from the U.S. government blaming the antiquities trade for funding ISIS. This position dovetails nicely with the cultural balkanists, archeologists and scholars in the field, who feel that source nations should retain every scrap of antiquity found in their borders, irregardless of their ability to preserve or study them. As I have reported in an earlier blog post here:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://tomswope.blogspot.com/2015/10/conflict-antiquities-symposium-at.html" target="_blank">Conflict Antiquity symposium at the Metropolitan Museum</a><br />
<br />
Not only were the government officials from Homeland security blaming the antiquity market for funding ISIS, but pieces they claimed to have come from there were being repatriated to Syria and Iraq. So states that have failed to protect their citizens and cannot even maintain their territorial integrity are somehow to be trusted with ancient works of art that their own inability to govern had permitted to be stolen in the first place? If one is concerned about the fate of these works of art, this seems wrong headed, if noble in intent. <br />
<br />
I am not going to rehash what I said in the earlier blog post, but clearly ISIS is a new kind of threat to culture, one that the West is unable to deal with, both militarily and policy wise. We have no effective strategy to stop ISIS and its cultural destruction. Rather than admit how powerless we are, the U.S. seems to feel that condemning the market and seizing objects is going to show they are doing something to protect Syria's cultural patrimony. Instead, the U.S. is endangering it again, by showing a complete lack of concern for the objects they do seize. <br />
<br />
Clearly the cultural legacy of this part of the world, at least in Syria and Iraq are in danger. We need a different attitude and a more realistic nuanced approach to the market and the pieces that make it out. During the cultural destruction in Tibet by the Chinese in the 1950's, the Dalai Lama said we should treat the art objects as refugees and give them safe shelter. Why aren't we thinking the same way about art from other conflict regions?<br />
<br />
I do not condone the illegal trade in antiquities but the alternative is not to condemn that art market completely. The rational and right thing to do would be for nations to allow for a legal trade in antiquities that can be controlled. However, we are talking about a war zone with a dysfunctional government with Syria and Iraq. Perhaps we should encourage the trade, as at least those pieces that make it out have a better chance of surviving than those left behind! I lump Iraq in with Syria as it seems to be only marginally better off at the moment. I expect Iraq to fall to ISIS or another form of extremism or schismatic civil war before too long.<br />
<br />
I don't know what the answer is, but I do know the danger to the cultural patrimony in this area is not the antiquity market, it is war, chaos, poverty, and ISIS.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-27492195727596688702016-10-01T12:30:00.000-07:002016-10-01T12:30:18.065-07:00Stela re-appears in Paris<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwB3HP-fRg8XMUnzsFS_xW1ZYDwTHuPSkDwGlaKTKkZtM4zTDViWOEL6nLPs6q-8pZ5WmlLFe2Xu74pRwu90Gp_p5E_u_noNVkR2zi0YIJbs6GiZPptMi9xk4gV5Li0pvztiaIGZibnRp/s1600/Screenshot+2015-09-20+14.06.35.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Limestone Stela of a Buddha, China, Eastern Wei 534 - 550 A.D.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
This stela was in a Stotheby's New York sale titled, "Images of Enlightenment: Devotional works of Art & Paintings", held September 16, 2015, lot 422. It failed to sell, which was shocking to me as I posted here: <a href="http://tomswope.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-power-of-negativity.html">http://tomswope.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-power-of-negativity.html</a><br />
<br />
It has reappeared on the market however. I was just in Paris, for a tribal and Asian art fair held in early September the <a href="http://www.parcours-des-mondes.com/index.php?section=exposant_detail&post=2817&lang=en" target="_blank">Parcours des Mondes</a>, Paris. One of the best dealers in Asian art in Paris, participated in the fair, Jacques Barrere, who was featuring some very good early Chinese Buddhist sculptures. Later that same week, his gallery was also exhibiting in the huge <a href="http://www.biennale-paris.com/en/exposants/liste-az/?id=baafd388-c511-4cdd-8f39-2df693d2c616_dc31b1ac-7e28-4e90-bad6-658212fa76b2" target="_blank">Paris Biennale</a> . The star of his offering at the Biennale was the same stela that failed to sell at Sotheby's. Sources who were at the Sotheby's sale in New York where the stela had failed to sell, told me that the Chinese dealers were telling anyone who was willing to listen that the sculptures in the sale were fake, and now the star piece reappears at one of the best dealers of the material in the world. If I were the consignor to the Sotheby's sale I would be very upset that a conspiracy of dealers had sabotaged the sale of the piece, only to have it reappear as a featured object at the worlds top antiques fair. I feel vindicated in that the market has confirmed what I always knew, that the piece is authentic, but it illustrates the power of rumor and innuendo to damage the reputation of a piece. As my mentor Matthias Komor said, "believe your eyes, not your ears" when judging an object. In this case, those who listened to the naysayers would have been misdirected. Perhaps Jacques Barrere was smart enough to buy the stela after the sale from Sotheby's when it failed to sell at auction. I doubt, or don't want to believe, that he conspired to undermine the auction to scoop up the piece at a discount. However it ended up in his hands, it is being treated with the respect that it deserves, which makes me happy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">
</div>
<br />
Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-4962668110665569672016-04-17T12:31:00.001-07:002016-04-17T12:31:16.316-07:00A Sui Dynasty Buddha Head<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOANv269ZarJQ434-o_9L8kfYbns_TOoY-U5jCWoMbrXYGyGAW4pDMqcBqKoZ_NS_Bm4Sx8rjagY9Av8U08vgDk3ZGJXpMzLKdJI_7uGbJc5utDZDemeXOj28tiUOfz_9jjrlKRqh0AQED/s1600/IMG_9808+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOANv269ZarJQ434-o_9L8kfYbns_TOoY-U5jCWoMbrXYGyGAW4pDMqcBqKoZ_NS_Bm4Sx8rjagY9Av8U08vgDk3ZGJXpMzLKdJI_7uGbJc5utDZDemeXOj28tiUOfz_9jjrlKRqh0AQED/s400/IMG_9808+-+Version+2.jpg" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Head of a Buddha, China, late 6th Century A.D.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Lr-j0AFqCwPdheLahxz9DMdGghAYP_FUTwfeIzZziC7wEfOpwnZddzhrZU6CeAsckGyKeVvNd8pKGiHwS1gZr815Iqpd3Wqxg6l5NhW8wPcd_ATyQH0G2k8iq3slZpAsQ8tYye-qOwuO/s1600/IMG_9816+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Lr-j0AFqCwPdheLahxz9DMdGghAYP_FUTwfeIzZziC7wEfOpwnZddzhrZU6CeAsckGyKeVvNd8pKGiHwS1gZr815Iqpd3Wqxg6l5NhW8wPcd_ATyQH0G2k8iq3slZpAsQ8tYye-qOwuO/s400/IMG_9816+-+Version+2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3/4 side view of the head above</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDiFqHhLTpvlLj5dppP00afPwC1FgGcAJtyLAdhNeztQtltR-z21u3tQ-_qNjMGM7A1-h2fiSWv4XI6ps6vSLhYyy6QXlyn05Uzt5TAwEOGTniFmbXDMv5ZgMNUfIBvbLgbAM-YO52G-Xa/s1600/IMG_9817+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDiFqHhLTpvlLj5dppP00afPwC1FgGcAJtyLAdhNeztQtltR-z21u3tQ-_qNjMGM7A1-h2fiSWv4XI6ps6vSLhYyy6QXlyn05Uzt5TAwEOGTniFmbXDMv5ZgMNUfIBvbLgbAM-YO52G-Xa/s400/IMG_9817+-+Version+2.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side view of the head above</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I just acquired a large head of a Buddha, and wanted to share with my readers how I looked at it and came up the with dating through comparisons to established parallels. Pictured above, it is a life sized head at 12 1/2 inches high, carved of a dark grey limestone shot through with white veins, and retains traces of its original gold leaf and some paint, particularly the red on the lips. It has a great archeological surface that has not been over cleaned.<br />
<br />
While at first glance it looks like all the other Buddha heads that one sees, this has certain stylistic features that help to date it rather precisely. Let us start with the ushnisha, the cranial lump that is a mark of the Buddha. Here the ushnisha is distinctly marked as a separate cranial node but it is a low and wide unlike the high narrow high ushnisha seen in the earlier Wei Dynasty, or the merging cone head of the immediately preceding Northern Qi Dynasty. The hair itself is rendered as a dense series of finely carved snail shell curls covering the hair area and ushnisha evenly.<br />
<br />
It is in the eyes that we get the clearest dating criteria however. The eyebrows are even clear and incised arches, and the eyelids are quite protuberant and form an even elongated narrow D shape on its side. Again, the preceding Northern Qi style had very curvy shaped eyes, more reflective of the Gupta prototypes the Buddha image came from. The nose is rather wide and flat, and the mouth has curved lips in a slight smile, but not quite the cupid bow of the Northern Qi period. The overall proportions of the head are rather squat and heavy, strong and wide. Overall, however the face is not so Chinese in look, as it becomes in the later Tang dynasty, it is more classical like the preceding period.<br />
<br />
When I first saw this head, I was immediately reminded strongly of a head that I admired when I went to the Rhode Island School of Design's Museum of Art, see below.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSNqjjmDTtnximVl1Se4puD1rxK8nW_CyeC7rTvmRW7DKQ7UUAFfh3tZSWB4WhNi-GC2IAOC4aLjydGWh_kkmIMfYuVGPG3m9VBuxrbxocYXwEydZWKzOVqodEEdEXFzo7m-gDA7knUE9L/s1600/IMG_3484+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSNqjjmDTtnximVl1Se4puD1rxK8nW_CyeC7rTvmRW7DKQ7UUAFfh3tZSWB4WhNi-GC2IAOC4aLjydGWh_kkmIMfYuVGPG3m9VBuxrbxocYXwEydZWKzOVqodEEdEXFzo7m-gDA7knUE9L/s400/IMG_3484+-+Version+2.jpg" width="272" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Head of a Buddha, Rhode Island School of Design Museum</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wB_i2793JsLNcUiP3lvz8AB1kE6x6lCXUhQMhvNnYVtisSGioBeEx3NqVTPzdba0UQHejTeqfP9ro8C-FqnqIqsAT1tZ8HQRhDvcoXkyeiWanLaqJr8v7Eln-ek8ESZsaG-0E8OnrlV4/s1600/IMG_3495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wB_i2793JsLNcUiP3lvz8AB1kE6x6lCXUhQMhvNnYVtisSGioBeEx3NqVTPzdba0UQHejTeqfP9ro8C-FqnqIqsAT1tZ8HQRhDvcoXkyeiWanLaqJr8v7Eln-ek8ESZsaG-0E8OnrlV4/s400/IMG_3495.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side view of RISD Museum Buddha head</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This Buddha head is also life size or just a little over life size, carved of an even dark grey limestone, with a clear but not high ushnisha, very similar to the one above, and the same long narrow D shaped eyes and wide flattish nose and slightly smiling mouth. On this head the hair is rendered as a series of small bumps a common variation in Chinese art from the snail shell curls of the Gupta prototype.<br />
<br />
Another piece that came to mind is a large standing Bodhisattva in the Baltimore Museum of Art, see below:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjne5yNJ_PdSfXq9SFr2iuM4pgm6HstTXDYIrshLdJIzvu1wMGnDkClBjgfeSe7b7Eq0SWM_uI47q9EnChpT4mVr_ot-KmH7GfGUSfIyIOhyphenhyphen6Z62RdeuitsgGiBbbCKz9p8J3N7Nq9ijiSk/s1600/IMG_1406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjne5yNJ_PdSfXq9SFr2iuM4pgm6HstTXDYIrshLdJIzvu1wMGnDkClBjgfeSe7b7Eq0SWM_uI47q9EnChpT4mVr_ot-KmH7GfGUSfIyIOhyphenhyphen6Z62RdeuitsgGiBbbCKz9p8J3N7Nq9ijiSk/s400/IMG_1406.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Statue of a Bodhisattva, Baltimore Museum of Art</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The statue of a Bodhisattva above is actually quite large, over life sized, standing at 8 feet tall or so, and displayed on a high base so I could not get a photo at eye level of the head. The body's proportions have the slender elegant form of early Chinese Buddhist sculptures, and the head has features that place it at the end of this period, just before the transformation that occurs in the Tang Dynasty.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxuRzyd5mt6cpsm4DI775IkrEXqMv_AoywDd6PsqRjGVAjMDUAqJJfQ3VGddRLSGCzKMvWdz3vBUofH0GzT7rwxlA77pWCDzozaEu-bfzYpfSvJFDrdkJG5OxDx00LniMCJPWH9gPmWYa/s1600/IMG_1408+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxuRzyd5mt6cpsm4DI775IkrEXqMv_AoywDd6PsqRjGVAjMDUAqJJfQ3VGddRLSGCzKMvWdz3vBUofH0GzT7rwxlA77pWCDzozaEu-bfzYpfSvJFDrdkJG5OxDx00LniMCJPWH9gPmWYa/s400/IMG_1408+-+Version+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of head of Bodhisattva in Baltimore</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZouStgL75fdeB-P_g30sQ6_PTJxg0IytUeR1lb2GZSm0jZwykqNZKTj1hLZkq7-URhxAyzOJTzkbmVdlhO-rAl_AB6wilJ-im0otF1jUXEdHSw6DJbB3u2t4kE4i-8BezgurcE5cWCHV/s1600/IMG_1410+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKZouStgL75fdeB-P_g30sQ6_PTJxg0IytUeR1lb2GZSm0jZwykqNZKTj1hLZkq7-URhxAyzOJTzkbmVdlhO-rAl_AB6wilJ-im0otF1jUXEdHSw6DJbB3u2t4kE4i-8BezgurcE5cWCHV/s400/IMG_1410+-+Version+2.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side view of the head of Bodhisattva in Baltimore</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Another very good parallel is found closer to home though, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a standing Bodhisattva, dated to the Sui Dynasty, late 6th to early 7th Century A.D.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEida4fHmOMTw_16tKgfDqDGFVf-aj7HPLRok0jRb8bMvVCXFnGVXMdfDny7Yy5uLiRXFFZN7jyfmcYHFTg9BS1-mXGAiThIdfNldPAO9W1rFKy5gnusimQ2QZ3n5gGGLqWNdq2x1Gpp4sCG/s1600/IMG_3661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEida4fHmOMTw_16tKgfDqDGFVf-aj7HPLRok0jRb8bMvVCXFnGVXMdfDny7Yy5uLiRXFFZN7jyfmcYHFTg9BS1-mXGAiThIdfNldPAO9W1rFKy5gnusimQ2QZ3n5gGGLqWNdq2x1Gpp4sCG/s400/IMG_3661.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing Bodhisattva, Metropolitan Museum of Art New York</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvvhz7iyobiMXG9acB8JGy22TkwwWf1qKKrUKGjEKc9SeiEGlv4kTzjRGAct8xV7ksEYTIRXC_YZKQL3TvH8KCgS5a_HMkhU0FEgA2hUf4F-wqfwfO2Kay6eyGBxkar1Gn3O0PVfOg8u6c/s1600/IMG_3660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvvhz7iyobiMXG9acB8JGy22TkwwWf1qKKrUKGjEKc9SeiEGlv4kTzjRGAct8xV7ksEYTIRXC_YZKQL3TvH8KCgS5a_HMkhU0FEgA2hUf4F-wqfwfO2Kay6eyGBxkar1Gn3O0PVfOg8u6c/s400/IMG_3660.jpg" width="342" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of head of Met Museum Bodhisattva</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0llTwOF28JfcPsWOiZXhb7zRv4TarNdJ1cf7u96gDg-9Die-2dfR-F0BnAjhpDtE3uJl9zfU-yXjpFUPPPfw6TTHAhYYTsLdgNaphaY7D4z4oFAEGVex_Hxn_cz2MZ9635wnK3IXtaIVh/s1600/IMG_3663.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0llTwOF28JfcPsWOiZXhb7zRv4TarNdJ1cf7u96gDg-9Die-2dfR-F0BnAjhpDtE3uJl9zfU-yXjpFUPPPfw6TTHAhYYTsLdgNaphaY7D4z4oFAEGVex_Hxn_cz2MZ9635wnK3IXtaIVh/s400/IMG_3663.jpg" width="350" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view from 3/4 side of Met Museum Bodhisattva</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This parallel is quite close to my new Buddha head. The nose is wide and relatively flat, the eyes are simple elongated D shapes with strong projecting upper eyelids, and clear arched eyebrows. The proportions of the head are also quite close to my head.<br />
<br />
Another parallel is a large spectacular standing Bodhisattva in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, which I have known for many years.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwxiSN8fuVn21T13UyPUJmJF1BrvHmfDvJce0u4BvsDFJX0jE5s0ue1tnngHITxeEbD5YwmkH8fbZry64YSEbxsqJtDOHlO2Vy65N1t1-vgGdoEYaJBpq1ilFYtwrD3g3YlNVO2YBOaNv/s1600/IMG_8536.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEwxiSN8fuVn21T13UyPUJmJF1BrvHmfDvJce0u4BvsDFJX0jE5s0ue1tnngHITxeEbD5YwmkH8fbZry64YSEbxsqJtDOHlO2Vy65N1t1-vgGdoEYaJBpq1ilFYtwrD3g3YlNVO2YBOaNv/s400/IMG_8536.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing Bodhisattva, Museum of Fine Arts Boston</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This statue, complete with its lotus base guarded by lions, stands over 8 feet tall, it is quite large. Very hard to photograph again, at least to get a detail of the head, which is what we are focused on today.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipwJy2uA0rAg1_wBhaTgPPrgPBeYAGRLErfUyLPreLBCTHQAoWIImMEy-MRj2GJoiAOdXHAqHSCDwDMGxz04LI8jZ69WjJMN0IPwdsC6cQLnYoQqmTh2RDqmVNCoc3b93pPWg9MXP_crQj/s1600/IMG_1791+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipwJy2uA0rAg1_wBhaTgPPrgPBeYAGRLErfUyLPreLBCTHQAoWIImMEy-MRj2GJoiAOdXHAqHSCDwDMGxz04LI8jZ69WjJMN0IPwdsC6cQLnYoQqmTh2RDqmVNCoc3b93pPWg9MXP_crQj/s400/IMG_1791+-+Version+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Head of the Bodhisattva in the MFA Boston</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1-j2DAFyXKmnF3918lZEgh5x8kVf_vHbIpj77JtOImNP32XOT5LOKIpZ3KZ6DcM9VZuDS_UWDQ5M977E0cfYy-nDWfxwRn-IzmnNiwnPRk5KJ5K2cGFab-A88Z8XQYl0AnONujnXXOO7/s1600/IMG_1794+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1-j2DAFyXKmnF3918lZEgh5x8kVf_vHbIpj77JtOImNP32XOT5LOKIpZ3KZ6DcM9VZuDS_UWDQ5M977E0cfYy-nDWfxwRn-IzmnNiwnPRk5KJ5K2cGFab-A88Z8XQYl0AnONujnXXOO7/s400/IMG_1794+-+Version+2.jpg" width="393" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side view of the head of the Bodhisattva in the MFA Boston</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Stylistically, the head of this large Bodhisattva in Boston shares many similarities with my new Buddha head. The same wide proportions, flat wide nose, projecting eyelids and arched brows, and similar mouth. This statue is dated on the label to the Sui Dynasty.<br />
<br />
While not every piece has such readily found comparables to use as parallels, this is how one dates a piece. With this Buddha head, we can be confident of its dating within a decade, which is remarkable given its great age. However this was a period of great creative and political flux in China, and styles advanced and changed rapidly allowing for a fairly precise dating. <br />
<br />
<br />Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-86482227938286459482016-03-20T12:41:00.000-07:002016-03-20T12:42:39.772-07:00Asia Week 2016<br />
I wish I could do one of my posts on highlights seen during Asia
Week, but this year the event has been destroyed by the actions of the
US government misguided war on culture.<br />
<br />
I came to go to Asia Week to see the different exhibitions on Wednesday, and one of my first stops was to Gallery Vallois at 67th and Madison, where Dalton Somare was exhibiting. He is a dealer I featured last year because of the extraordinary pieces he showed. This year, I found the doors shut and locked and we were not allowed in, the owner answered the door to say they were rearranging and to come back another day. I at first thought it a thin pretext to keep people away while he had an important client in and I thought it was rude and strange behavior for a public event such as Asia Week. Only at the end of the day did I learn that instead, the gallery had been raided by US marshals who confiscated a major sculpture they claim had been smuggled from Afghanistan. <br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-M4TUGtj8TK954LOUudKRkihY36AEh7-lQwSJxFVdqmFOyPfBWcLi2UAJeHhwCrrmrgKBImklcZw-b1privPYfiq_0xlXoKHHkb8axfRvAntCDlGHyKl3pv7_u4ais43aPy5OQMIAbMqP/s1600/18SEIZE-superJumbo-v3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-M4TUGtj8TK954LOUudKRkihY36AEh7-lQwSJxFVdqmFOyPfBWcLi2UAJeHhwCrrmrgKBImklcZw-b1privPYfiq_0xlXoKHHkb8axfRvAntCDlGHyKl3pv7_u4ais43aPy5OQMIAbMqP/s320/18SEIZE-superJumbo-v3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Homeland Security officers removing a sculpture from a New York Gallery </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/arts/design/law-enforcement-focuses-on-asia-week-in-inquiry-of-antiquities-smuggling.html?emc=eta1" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/18/arts/design/law-enforcement-focuses-on-asia-week-in-inquiry-of-antiquities-smuggling.html?emc=eta1</a><br />
<br />
Above is a link the the article in the New York Times about the raid. Homeland Security also raided Christie's, taking two sculptures from their sale, and also raided another dealer, Nancy Wiener, from whom they took several items.<br />
<br />
While in theory the idea of looted antiquities is abhorrent, in the age of Islamic extremism and civil wars, in which cultural destruction has become a regular event, we need to rethink our approach to the antiquities trade. During the cultural cleansing of Tibet when China was destroying the Buddhist monasteries, the Dalai Lama declared that we should see the objects smuggled out of Tibet as "refugees". I think we should view objects from the conflict torn regions of the world as rescues facing probably destruction. Ideally, we should not encourage looting, but we do not live in an ideal world, and Islamic fundamentalists are intent in erasing the culture and artifacts of the regions in their control. We should have learned something from the blowing up of the Bamiyan Buddhas, and now we have ISIS blowing up Nimrud, and Palmyra. But we have learned nothing. Rather the US government has taken an extreme position against the antiquities trade. I wonder if it is to compensate for their ineptitude and impotence in stopping the violence and destruction where it is taking place. We have completely screwed up, through our invasions, Iraq, and now Syria as collateral damage, and Afghanistan. <br />
<br />
I cannot speak to the history of the sculpture being carted from Dalton Somare, where it came from and how it got to the market. It is of a type I'm not familiar with, it is quite exceptional. I can tell you however with certainty that it is a great work of art, whose future is quite insecure if it goes back to Afghanistan. I can also tell you that the dealer who owned it did not loot it himself, and I am sure bought it on good faith for the great work of art that it is. Now, it is likely to be returned to the war torn country from where it came, to be lost to scholarship and humanity and likely destroyed. And apparently, that suits the extremists at Homeland Security just fine. <br />
<br />
For those who love art and the history that it teaches us about our common humanity, something must be done to stop the US government and change it's approach. This heavy handed manner will only drive the market underground, where it cannot be monitored, and does nothing to discourage destruction. Rather we as a nation should be focused on stopping the violence and the extremists that are responsible for the looting and cultural destruction taking place in the countries where it is taking place, not here. Instead the US is prosecuting law abiding art dealers which does nothing to further the stated aim of preserving cultural heritage.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-56566447073548340952016-02-27T15:01:00.000-08:002016-02-27T16:17:09.514-08:00Another Poniatowski Gem<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRsv-Iv1AzgXHYwBW5y-8tVd2wC9a3tNPOx0IIcDv-8mNJN_zGNteDPhdHVmB79NtvsmbmC5Lrq2cfc-CYql9VJcGf7oXEoLBuEFc9_t5fQnBM7R42kTIpj-1gFoF9GFbs6Sg8zbvqdpQ/s1600/IMG_9367+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRsv-Iv1AzgXHYwBW5y-8tVd2wC9a3tNPOx0IIcDv-8mNJN_zGNteDPhdHVmB79NtvsmbmC5Lrq2cfc-CYql9VJcGf7oXEoLBuEFc9_t5fQnBM7R42kTIpj-1gFoF9GFbs6Sg8zbvqdpQ/s400/IMG_9367+-+Version+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="250" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bulgari Necklace set with a carnelian intaglio</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I recently returned from Florida, where I went to the big Miami
Beach Antiques Show, which bills itself as the worlds largest indoor antique
show, and it is big. I’ve been going for a few years now, I actually exhibited
a few years ago but found my time was better spent as a buyer, rather than
trying to sell there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Early on,
now more than 20 years ago, I went there with a friend, and discovered a
Bulgari necklace set with an important Roman cameo portrait bust of Tiberius,
which I was able to sell to the British Museum. So ever after, I’m on the look
out for unrecognized ancient gems set in modern settings, or old ones for that
matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fair has grown if
anything since years ago, they have added a whole jewelry annex with another
several dozen dealers displaying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This year, after having done the main rooms for several days I finally
made it into the annex and there I found this necklace, set with an swivel set
engraved carnelian gem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could
tell at a glance it was something of interest to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is a Bulgari necklace of 1980’s vintage, emblematic of
the time. A heavy gold chain that weighs a lot, has suspended from it in
a swivel setting an engraved gem, with a small cabochon sapphire suspended
from it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The normal Bulgari
necklace of this type has an ancient Greek or Roman coin, which would be bronze, silver or
much more rarely gold. Generally the coins are of middling
quality, it was more about the idea of an ancient coin and the flashy heavy
gold chain necklace it was suspended from. It was a type which could almost appear tacky but was worn by high New York Society or European women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’m sure you’ve all seen the type, Bulgari or not, there were many
imitators of this type.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However
this necklace has suspended from it a gem of another order of quality.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
</style>
</div>
-->
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course I’m always hoping to discover another ancient
glyptik masterpiece that I can research and sell well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I was able to more closely look at
this gem, it was apparent that while this is no ancient gem, it is still of
enormous interest, it is a Poniatowski gem!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHWrfcE58R1NHmdzohSq0Wmn8I5rmObyhmo_QJQqn3TRunSKR0mz0tj6A1Rn4io-nCk7KULwrawZP8SoeWvgD6sU58Px3p4MnaGF7ytx4wwTsPpkX4FX4bl88irTeA4_XliwXKDXEV7sx5/s1600/IMG_9365+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHWrfcE58R1NHmdzohSq0Wmn8I5rmObyhmo_QJQqn3TRunSKR0mz0tj6A1Rn4io-nCk7KULwrawZP8SoeWvgD6sU58Px3p4MnaGF7ytx4wwTsPpkX4FX4bl88irTeA4_XliwXKDXEV7sx5/s400/IMG_9365+-+Version+2.jpg" width="370" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carnelian engraved gem depicting the Apotheosis of Hercules</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
</style>
</div>
-->
<div class="MsoNormal">
Several things struck me looking at the gem; it is large for
an engraved gem, over an inch across, beautifully carved, has a slightly worn
surface, with a tiny but clear Greek signature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of these things are characteristic of Poniatowski
gems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I couldn’t identify the
subject, which has a muscular bearded man riding a large eagle with outspread
wings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first assumption is
that it might be Zeus on his eagle, although Zeus is the eagle, he doesn’t ride
it, at least not that I’ve ever seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, a few minutes back in my hotel room online was all it took to
find the exact reference, thanks to the ongoing Oxford project on their Beazley
Archives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As referenced before on
my blog, Oxford is attempting to recreate digitally the Poniatowski collection
that was dispersed in 1839.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have rediscovered a few so far myself, and blogged about
them here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would be my fifth
rediscovery and the sixth Poniatowski that I currently own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Online I found the gem once I put eagle
in the search box. See below:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmsOciRRKsEUzTo6T1CZqIb8_sUZ68VEwbmi7iQ3DS2QN3olO07VqB7f5mW9cVG-ygDtmE2x_zMNX3nKNTtMNT6fuhJGzvupSB2PJ-GPbv-vn2-_N1BU2nkpGhHzE2GAj-VCy8Y6l3D8h/s1600/Hercules+seated+on+an+eagle+gem.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSmsOciRRKsEUzTo6T1CZqIb8_sUZ68VEwbmi7iQ3DS2QN3olO07VqB7f5mW9cVG-ygDtmE2x_zMNX3nKNTtMNT6fuhJGzvupSB2PJ-GPbv-vn2-_N1BU2nkpGhHzE2GAj-VCy8Y6l3D8h/s400/Hercules+seated+on+an+eagle+gem.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">screen grab from the Beazley Archive website</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
</style></div>
-->The subject is totally unexpected, “The Apotheosis of
Hercules, who is seated upon an eagle, and bearing a figure of Victory”. The gem was listed in Poniatowski's catalog of his collection, <i>Catalogue des pierres graves antiques de S.A. le Prince Stanlislas Poniatowski, </i>1830 or 1833, II.378, and sold at Christie's sale in 1839, lot number 420. The subject as depicted here does not exist in antiquity. Certainly the apotheosis of Hercules was depicted,
but he is generally seen in the company of the Gods, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to indicate his divinity, but never
seated on an eagle, nor is anyone else in Greek art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The closest one comes to anyone born aloft by an eagle, is the found
in the depiction of the abduction of Ganymede, where the eagle takes the boy in
his claws and carries him up to Mt. Olympus.<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5fXqbnLoElpeiMhRZGJR20kZE9BcXAThN7TEgKj-5t_JvjUbGkjfAoQTAikpvNRi9WdnObgrESFd_jbyt3Xx47jzZXu_5TIyG-_UNjBBEOWNyfLBfPf13-v691FXLyM9EYyvtlFhrpba/s1600/Met+ganymede+and+eagle+earrings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU5fXqbnLoElpeiMhRZGJR20kZE9BcXAThN7TEgKj-5t_JvjUbGkjfAoQTAikpvNRi9WdnObgrESFd_jbyt3Xx47jzZXu_5TIyG-_UNjBBEOWNyfLBfPf13-v691FXLyM9EYyvtlFhrpba/s400/Met+ganymede+and+eagle+earrings.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ganymede and the eagle earrings, gold, Greek 4th Century B.C., Metropolitan Museum, NY</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
</style>
</div>
-->
<div class="MsoNormal">
In Roman art however, Emperors are sometimes depicted riding
on the back of an eagle, in their apotheosis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most famous example of that is in the center of the
interior of the Arch of Titus, had has Titus on the back of the eagle seen from
below, where the viewer stands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7deXz5Hq_PjeqJ0UFGMdpahFVCIVklv572v2q7AhFSWdloik3i_ccwC1bSs0_AilzwW9Ll2toDAs4kKcf7WpaEsEP42ii5s12GOovYtKaH1jfGXnX9t_t-MOU4QiORg53jZzxlPvjmnky/s1600/apotheosis+of+Titus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7deXz5Hq_PjeqJ0UFGMdpahFVCIVklv572v2q7AhFSWdloik3i_ccwC1bSs0_AilzwW9Ll2toDAs4kKcf7WpaEsEP42ii5s12GOovYtKaH1jfGXnX9t_t-MOU4QiORg53jZzxlPvjmnky/s400/apotheosis+of+Titus.jpg" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail from the Arch of Titus, Rome, late 1st Century A.D.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
</style></div>
-->
In the relief from the Arch of Titus, which is somewhat
damaged, you only see the head and shoulders of the Emporer behind the spread
winged eagle who bears him aloft to the heavens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is not sitting astride the eagle as Hercules in this gem.<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Apotheosis of emperors and members of the imperial family is also depicted on gems, and
on some famous cameos, particularly the one now in the Biblioteque National in
Paris, see below a photo I took when I was there last. There Germanicus is
seated across the back of the eagle, as if in a chair with one foot appearing
under a wing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather improbable,
but the message is conveyed effectively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3S0V_v1yKv4jDnHE5L3THlYd1iewWHBbDeGo1d93QW9YUtIzEhtP1SSV2NqyUfWxWSLQ30j9ZgCDrmAXELpJmm9h2_FD_CWpuMpkr3dmDcBzpLGymgRtGedfkI84jVq6I4E9S59sXpLbM/s1600/IMG_0778+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3S0V_v1yKv4jDnHE5L3THlYd1iewWHBbDeGo1d93QW9YUtIzEhtP1SSV2NqyUfWxWSLQ30j9ZgCDrmAXELpJmm9h2_FD_CWpuMpkr3dmDcBzpLGymgRtGedfkI84jVq6I4E9S59sXpLbM/s400/IMG_0778+-+Version+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apotheosis of an Germanicus, agate cameo, Biblioteque National Paris</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
</style>
</div>
-->
<div class="MsoNormal">
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
</style>
</div>
-->
<div class="MsoNormal">
For depictions of the subject of the Apotheosis of Hercules more contemporary to that of my engraved gem,
a famous example is that found in Versailles in the Hercules room on the
ceiling by Francois Le Moyne in 1736.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There Hercules is standing in a chariot, born aloft into the clouds to
join the Gods above. No eagle is apparent, and he certainly isn’t riding
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7cCr9rA3UP3U9tSlE2C0xLJtB5xeW5oc7y7bdX_WUEcw-j0KuZy32uBv4ASZh7LwK-jR7hVZr7eSevXEK1F_TovwVJr8XKbyKXDzZYD_ZMq0Yak0y1t79uhVb4SoCCxCwwOQcZLZ1XMbe/s1600/detail+of+Versaille+Hercules+apotheosis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7cCr9rA3UP3U9tSlE2C0xLJtB5xeW5oc7y7bdX_WUEcw-j0KuZy32uBv4ASZh7LwK-jR7hVZr7eSevXEK1F_TovwVJr8XKbyKXDzZYD_ZMq0Yak0y1t79uhVb4SoCCxCwwOQcZLZ1XMbe/s400/detail+of+Versaille+Hercules+apotheosis.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">detail of Apotheosis of Hercules, by Le Moyne, Versailles </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I cannot recall or find a similar depiction of the
Apotheosis of Hercules from the period contemporaneous with this gem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If anyone knows of one, or comes across this subject, do let me know.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What this search for sources for this gem reinforces for me is the originality of the Poniatowski gems. Even if the intent was to deceive people into thinking they were ancient, the are real works of art worthy of appreciation in their own right.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-52642195530460803732015-10-03T13:46:00.002-07:002015-10-03T13:46:19.983-07:00Conflict Antiquities Symposium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJySXRn1r2TnMdhEDIVr3jb8dbIbGtJA2Ws9M3tk6fPT02AjlSidxGtNnWXzC9ZB2631vtleIqgETuv9RHytuRzU11JSzemRlQA8tE00Z4wMHSFrRRTDlfPB-VnBCOyoe4AV9qBZvy6DP/s1600/palmyran+relief.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnJySXRn1r2TnMdhEDIVr3jb8dbIbGtJA2Ws9M3tk6fPT02AjlSidxGtNnWXzC9ZB2631vtleIqgETuv9RHytuRzU11JSzemRlQA8tE00Z4wMHSFrRRTDlfPB-VnBCOyoe4AV9qBZvy6DP/s320/palmyran+relief.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Palmyran funerary relief in the Smithsonian Museum, Washington D.C.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last Tuesday night, September 29th, I went to a seminar held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art titled: “Conflict Antiquities, forging a public/private response to save the endangered patrimony of Iraq and Syria”. The title and program warned me that this was likely to be an exercise in blaming the antiquities market for the cultural destruction in the Levant, and it was. It was co-sponsored by the US Department of State, here is a<a href="http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/09/247298.htm" target="_blank"> link</a> to the press release on it.<br />
<br />
Thrust of the speakers, who ranged from assistant secretaries of State, representatives from Homeland Security, agents of the Justice Department and high end attorneys for major museums and auction houses, was that the market for looted antiquities was the GREATEST threat to Syria and Iraqi's cultural patrimony. They went over the extensive looting taking place with aerial photographs of sites pillaged since the unrest in Syria and Iraq, and the rise of ISIS.<br />
<br />
However, their case is unconvincing to those involved in the antiquities business in the US and Europe, myself included. Showing images purportedly showing a receipt book taken in a raid on an ISIS compound showing taxes collected on antiquities sales in Arabic, they attempted to make the case that ISIS is funding itself largely through the sale of looting objects form the territories under their control. However, the images they showed, screen grabs from online market places in Arabic, were of low end antiquities of very minimal value, small coins, bronzes and Roman glass, and a few Palmyran reliefs that were of higher quality. There was not one dealer among the panelists, and the one dealer who spoke up in the Q&A period, Randall Hixenbaugh, made the point that even the more attractive Palmyran reliefs are of modest value and hard to sell.<br />
<br />
My issues with this symposium are several fold. The first issue is that neither I, or the dealers I know, are seeing "conflict" antiquities being sold on the market. The second issue is that the antiquities market in the US has been educated about cultural patrimony issues for well over a decade, since the 1990's. The trade has gotten so restricted with museums and major auction houses requiring so much documentation of provenance that a class of "orphan" antiquities has been created; that is pieces with a long history of ownership here, but who lack the documentation to prove it. The symposium is going over old ground for us here, but attempting to address a new threat, which is ISIS.<br />
<br />
And here is my real problem with the symposium, the utter disregard for the destruction of objects and sites. Oh, they spoke about it as a bad thing, but then equated looting as the same as being blown up. There was no recognition that at least a looted object sold onto the market is one that survives, unlike those blown up or destroyed. The real difference with the situation in the Levant and that in other parts of the Classical world is that there, looting is market driven, but in the Levant, it is not. Rather it is religious zealotry, and while ISIS might be happy to profit from the sale of antiquities, it not profit that motivates. ISIS would rather destroy things than sell them. One story I read researching for this blog concerned an attempt to smuggle Palmyran reliefs (link to the blog, <a href="https://conflictantiquities.wordpress.com/2015/07/31/syria-turkey-lebanon-antiquities-policing/" target="_blank">Conflict Antiquities</a>) In this story a smuggler driving a vehicle was smoking when passing an ISIS checkpoint, and the guards got suspicious because smoking is a sin and stopped him and searched the vehicle. When the Palmyran funerary reliefs were found, they destroyed them. They weren't interested in selling them for the money.<br />
<br />
The effort to make "conflict" antiquities valueless, may well guarantee their destruction, since that is the primary aim of ISIS anyway. Antiquities are by their very nature fragile, only the perception of their value, whether monetary or culturally motivates people to preserve them. While we might decry the loss of context that looting inevitably entails, the objects at least have a chance of survival. If they have no value, no one is going to preserve them in that part of the world. There is no good solution to the problem of the loss of cultural patrimony short of destroying ISIS, and re-establishing the rule of law in Iraq and Syria. That requires much more than lecturing law abiding citizens of the US, who the government can threaten. It requires action, military and diplomatic where the damage is being done. And the US and the UN have proven unable and unwilling to really address ISIS and the instability in that region. The humanitarian and cultural cost of this ineffectiveness is enormous and continuing. The symposium was a waste of time, it is window dressing, an attempt by the State Department to show they are doing something to address the real destruction taking place, by placing the onus on the antiquities market, rather than addressing the real threat. However well intended, it was a remarkably one sided prescription for a problem that is, it was like decorating the hallway while the house burns.<br />
<br />
I have a lot more to say on this subject, and will in subsequent posts. <br />
<br />
<br />Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-1203184666959984072015-09-28T11:53:00.000-07:002015-09-28T11:53:23.601-07:00Civilization Under Attack, what can we do?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisb0pA_fOnmOOemIcSZYd4DJujmSW7JRUDklbn_lWZjVNvUcaY3wdodtxwN4L2RnOvuOyqv_oYCz-oB4KPSBTVvoaKCnJLf35Y_3SZIwwKdGWD_jRVDzZsVjfjZtPvqLyoudKfyBnmeOAK/s1600/Islamic_State_nimr_3264420b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisb0pA_fOnmOOemIcSZYd4DJujmSW7JRUDklbn_lWZjVNvUcaY3wdodtxwN4L2RnOvuOyqv_oYCz-oB4KPSBTVvoaKCnJLf35Y_3SZIwwKdGWD_jRVDzZsVjfjZtPvqLyoudKfyBnmeOAK/s400/Islamic_State_nimr_3264420b.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still from ISIS video of the destruction of Nimrud in April 2015</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There is a new force arising in the East, and it is undeniably evil, ISIS, also called Daesh, ISIL, and I am sure other names. By any name, the rise of ISIS is one of the most disturbing things to happen in my lifetime. And the world does nothing, or at least nothing effective to counter them and stop the killing of innocents, and now the destruction of our common human heritage. The provocation has been deliberate and intense, videos of the beheading, first of Western hostages one at a time, then mass decapitations of groups of men, one of the last available to be seen was the group beheading of a dozen Egyptian Coptic Christians a few months ago. It is very hard to find these videos now online, as evidently the powers that be are suppressing their dissemination in the idea that these videos are recruiting tools for ISIS. However I think everyone should see them, their barbarity is shocking and could be a stimulus for action. Instead, the suppression of the beheading videos has, according to some experts, lead to ISIS's destruction of archaeological sites, and distributing videos of them. <br />
<br />
One would have hoped the world would have learned from the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas by the Taliban in 2001. But since then no mechanism has been put in place to protect ancient objects, sites and museums. Perhaps the American, and the West's attitude is best summed up by the infamous quote of Rumsfeld after the looting of the Iraqi National Museum happened when Bagdhad fell, "Stuff happens". He went on to say, wars are untidy, and free people are free to do stupid things. There is a quality of resignation in the West to the provocations coming out of ISIS. People in the know, say there is nothing we can do to stop ISIS from destroying these sites. I wonder what the point of having the worlds most powerful military is, if we cannot use it effectively in situations such as these. There is a lack of will on our part to intervene. And the world loses its common heritage to these barbarians.<br />
<br />
Instead of action against ISIS, what is happening now is the archaeological community is holding seminars bashing the antiquities trade. As if the dealers were responsible for the destruction of the archaeological sites in the Near East. One was just held this past week at the Asia Society, <a href="http://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/can-world-save-antiquities-under-terrorist-threat" target="_blank">http://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/can-world-save-antiquities-under-terrorist-threat</a><br />
There a number of academics and high ranking ministers spoke about the role of looting and the antiquities trade in funding terrorism. And almost as an aside, addressing the destruction of the archaeological sites. One of the speakers, Col. Matthew Bogdanos, who put out a book titled, <u>Thieves of Baghdad</u>, spoke about the "huge" size of the antiquities market, saying he couldn't be specific about how large it is, because it is a national security secret. Another such seminar is scheduled for Tuesday, September 29th, 2015 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. I am going to attend it, and will report on what is said. I hope it doesn't become another market bashing and blaming event. But the premise it already sounds like that is what it will be. The title is "Conflict Antiquities: Forging a public/private response to save the endangered patrimony of Iraq and Syria". It says it will have presentations that provide new evidence that ISIL is looting for profit and discuss a new initiative to combat the trade in conflict antiquities. <br />
<br />
I'm unconvinced that this is as big an issue as the academics are telling us. As a dealer, I have been trying to sell ancient art of all kinds for decades now. And I can tell you that it isn't an easy sell. With ancient Mediterranean art, not only do you have issues of authenticity to get over, but provenance is a big concern for the collectors in the US. Rich people aren't stupid, they don't want to spend a lot of money on something that turns out to be either a fake, or illicit and run the risk of it being taken away from them. The market for ancient art is very small, and the buyers are sophisticated. Antiquities are not fashionable, most people don't know a thing about them and they are hard to boast about, unlike say a Picasso or other modern master, or a Jeff Koons or other contemporary art. People buy art because they like it, but also, for the status the ownership of it conveys in the eyes of their peers. The buyers for antiquities are not looking for social approval, as they would get very little of it. Most people, wealthy successful people not excepted, know very little about ancient art, and have little interest in it. When people come into my house, it isn't uncommon for them to not look around them at the pieces, they just cannot or do not relate to them. The idea that there are these wealthy people willing to spend millions on purloined objects that no museum would accept and that could never be sold at auction or legitimately is unbelievable to me. Who are they and where are they? I don't see people willing to spend millions on legitimate antiquities, let alone illicit ones. Collectors exist obviously, but not in the numbers posited by these academics and ministers, and not on the scale they are suggesting. <br />
<br />
And another question I have is this, if there is such a flood of ancient Near Eastern pieces reaching the market, where are they? I'm not seeing them. Perhaps I am cloistered in my little pocket of the market, so they aren't passing by my attention, but I do leave Hudson and go to Europe and New York and see what people have for sale. And I see nothing on the market of the quality of the material that we see being destroyed in the videos disseminated by ISIS. I'm afraid that the reality is that ISIS is simply destroying the objects, and not selling them. Some pieces may get smuggled but these people are true believers, something we don't understand in the West. We are so immersed in the market mentality, and believe so much in the power of money, that the idea that there are people motivated by pure religious extremism who have no regard for the value of these pieces is unthinkable by us. The reality is that ISIS can fund its operating in other ways far more effectively. Their capture of Mosul and the banks there, gave them something like 400 million dollars in cash. That is a lot of money. Selling oil into the black market is much easier to do than selling antiquities. Smuggling and profiting from the smuggling of the goods that people need to live is easier than selling antiquities. <br />
<br />
This brings me to the crux of what I want to say. We need to rethink our attitude towards the market, as what we have been doing hasn't been working, and isn't achieving the oft stated goal of furthering the preservation of our heritage. Vilifying the market for antiquities does little or nothing to prevent the destruction of the archaeological sites and objects they contain. This a favorite thing for academics to do, blame the market for the problem of illicit looting. However the situation is different now, we are dealing with a new force of evil beyond our comprehension. We need a different approach. I would suggest that in this situation where objects and sites are being actively destroyed that perhaps the moral and right position to take is to purchase everything we can, and hope to encourage looting. There is little doubt in my mind that what is left in the Middle East will not be preserved, rather it is all at risk of destruction. Do we doubt that they will do it? How many videos do we need to see before we believe their words. The looting might be lamentable in the loss of context, but the objects at least would survive. The destruction of Nimrud was complete, ISIS used high explosives which sent shock waves through the ground, and would have destroyed everything both above ground and underneath. The archaeological site has been effectively and utterly destroyed with nothing left for future generations to discover. Now the only remnants are what was taken out by the West and currently in our great museums. <br />
<br />
The great museums and collections we have are the repository for our common human history. Their presence not only enriches the lives of those who live close but the many visitors who go to them. And now, like zoos and our museums help to preserve things that are in danger and being destroyed in the countries where they were found. They can no longer be viewed as outdated vestiges of colonialism, but as repositories of human history preserving it for all mankind. The market has an important part to play in all of this. By giving value to antiquities, it helps to preserve them. Now more than ever, everyone needs to work together, dealers, collectors and academics to counter the active destruction now taking place on a scale never before observed. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-30113267925384732282015-09-21T15:46:00.001-07:002015-09-21T15:46:17.689-07:00The power of negativity!This past week was Asia Week at Sotheby's New York and Christie's. The Sotheby's sale had some exceptional and very good early Chinese Buddhist sculpture, Christie's had almost nothing of that type. The estimates at Sotheby's were very high, I thought overly ambitious, but I was hopeful. Perhaps Sotheby's was hoping to recreate the excitement and high prices generated by the Robert Ellsworth auction earlier in March of this year: <a href="http://tomswope.blogspot.com/2015/03/amazing-results-robert-ellsworth-sale.html" target="_blank">http://tomswope.blogspot.com/2015/03/amazing-results-robert-ellsworth-sale.html</a>. The early Chinese Buddhist sculpture in the Ellsworth sale sold exceptionally well, going way over the conservatively low, but realistic estimates. However, as I would like to see the field progress, I was hoping the high expectations at Sotheby's would be realized. I was unable to attend the sale in person, so followed it live online, as now anyone with an internet connection can. It was a shocking experience, not a single one of the early Chinese Buddhist sculptures sold. Below are the top three pieces:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwB3HP-fRg8XMUnzsFS_xW1ZYDwTHuPSkDwGlaKTKkZtM4zTDViWOEL6nLPs6q-8pZ5WmlLFe2Xu74pRwu90Gp_p5E_u_noNVkR2zi0YIJbs6GiZPptMi9xk4gV5Li0pvztiaIGZibnRp/s1600/Screenshot+2015-09-20+14.06.35.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwB3HP-fRg8XMUnzsFS_xW1ZYDwTHuPSkDwGlaKTKkZtM4zTDViWOEL6nLPs6q-8pZ5WmlLFe2Xu74pRwu90Gp_p5E_u_noNVkR2zi0YIJbs6GiZPptMi9xk4gV5Li0pvztiaIGZibnRp/s640/Screenshot+2015-09-20+14.06.35.png" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lot 422, Sotheby's 16 September 2015 sale</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The stela above has a single Buddha standing with a flame shaped halo behind him, on a lotus pedestal. Beautifully carved the full robes of the Buddha flare out on the sides in typical Wei Dynasty style, and the halo has incised and low relief carvings of flames, vegetal ornament, dragons and apsaras. The smiling beatific face with pronounced ushisha are all typical of the Wei Dynasty in the early 6th Century A.D. The piece is carved of limestone, stands 38 1/4 inches (97cm) high, and has a provenance as from a French collection early 20th Century. Not a distinguished provenance, and probably not a provenance the auction house would accept if provided it by a dealer. However, in theory, it was a legitimate piece free of potential troubles. As a work of art, it is exceptional, very complete and beautiful, it is a superb example of early Chinese Buddhist sculpture of the Northern Wei Dynasty.<br />
The estimate was an ambitious $800,000. to $1,200,000. USD.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintlZNf_vVNKrCZnIis-GpJLzjByj3OwCUnBsov8_iZ4G72EvYe1m5_FSrYupTeERVPwM9HXfcMZeqxffUxAfPGpTGXoyuScATUq5YfFVr3OgzEeuOleJ9x25o2tV8K0dJiB50XqROaCmY/s1600/Screenshot+2015-09-20+14.06.55.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEintlZNf_vVNKrCZnIis-GpJLzjByj3OwCUnBsov8_iZ4G72EvYe1m5_FSrYupTeERVPwM9HXfcMZeqxffUxAfPGpTGXoyuScATUq5YfFVr3OgzEeuOleJ9x25o2tV8K0dJiB50XqROaCmY/s640/Screenshot+2015-09-20+14.06.55.png" width="196" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lot 424, Sotheby's 16 September 2015 sale</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Stylized and blocky, and not particularly beautiful, the standing Bodhisattva sculpture above is a rare and good example of early Chinese Buddhist sculpture. One the base is an inscription that dates the piece to the late Northern Qi Dynasty, 576 A.D. Without that inscription I would have given it a Northern Zhou dating, 577 - 581 A.D., which just goes to show you to be open minded about style! Quite large, it stands 58 1/4 inches (148cm) tall, carved of sandstone. This piece has a very distinguished provenance, coming from Yamanaka Co., Kyoto prior to 1925, and acquired by the sellers in the 1950's or 60's. It was also exhibited and published in 2005 at the Kyushu National Museum in Japan. The estimate was also $800,000. to $1,200,000. USD.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_z9zz51R3JCGjV8Fd7WcI6VX9ZmohCRhfqbkz4M1Rcu5s8P6ArRrw2Br0slQnrywzUC3Sv1WVzh_DAaDxUR7swpdCIXO5I001PxJdu9BgxWYAhTRoFIyr1YCqZ75DZ0M6O2tlIgx80o7w/s1600/Screenshot+2015-09-20+14.07.11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_z9zz51R3JCGjV8Fd7WcI6VX9ZmohCRhfqbkz4M1Rcu5s8P6ArRrw2Br0slQnrywzUC3Sv1WVzh_DAaDxUR7swpdCIXO5I001PxJdu9BgxWYAhTRoFIyr1YCqZ75DZ0M6O2tlIgx80o7w/s640/Screenshot+2015-09-20+14.07.11.png" width="304" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lot 425, Sotheby's 16 September 2015 sale</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This large Buddha head in limestone is from a high relief from a cave temple of the Northern Wei Dynasty, early 6th Century A.D. It is quite large as these things go, 18 inches (45.7cm) tall. Quite beautiful in expression it has the elongated face found in this period of Buddhist sculptures. It also has what appears to be quite a good provenance, a named private Brussels collection from 1950. The estimate was strong, $120,000. to $150,000. USD., but didn't seem unreasonably high to me, almost conservative.<br />
<br />
I watched online and was stunned when one after the other, these and the other early Chinese Buddhist sculptures failed to sell. The beautiful stela, lot 422, was bought in at $780,000., the standing Bodhisattva, lot 424, was bought in at $620,000., and the Wei Buddha head, lot 425, reached only $52,000. One problem with auctions, particularly when one isn't actually in the room but even if you are, is that you don't know if there were any bids at all, the auctioneer could have been bidding off the chandeliers as they say. I hope there were actual bids and the failure to sell reflected that the bids never reached the consignor set reserve price. If that is the case, then perhaps there were buyers for the pieces, at fairly substantial prices but not at the estimated prices. The last piece, the Buddha head relief, might not have had a buyer at all, given the very low price it was bought in for, about a third of the estimate. <br />
<br />
Right after the sale I called a colleague in New York who had previewed the sale and knows some prominent collector/scholars who were there as well. What he heard was that Chinese dealers were telling people that the pieces were fake, and apparently, they were believed. Why would a rather unimpressive small damaged Buddha sculpture in the Ellsworth sale, lot 755 in March 2015 sell for 1.5 million, and a large, complete stela of a Buddha fail to sell much less than that? It makes no sense at all.<br />
<br />
What the failure of these very good pieces to sell reveal is the irrationality of the art market and how easily manipulated the buyers are. People are prone to believe the worst things they hear, and most cannot see with, or believe their own eyes. The pieces above are clearly authentic, regardless of what was whispered about them. That these naysayers were believed is an indictment of the shallowness of the understanding of the material on the part of the dealers and collectors who should know better. It also shows how irrational the valuation of works of art is, it is completely subjective, there is no objective way to tell if something will sell and what it will sell for. Everything depends upon the mood of the buyers and the spell cast by the marketing etc. on them. I've done very well in my life looking past all that for myself. However it is frustrating and damages faith in the market. Perhaps the failure to sell was due to the high estimates, and after the sale the pieces might sell privately. Let us hope so. The question I have is what motivates people to condemn pieces like this? Whose interest are they serving? If they believe this nonsense themselves, it exposes them as blind to art and ignorant, if they condemned the pieces falsely, this borders on criminal behavior. Such is the art market. Don't believe what you hear, learn to look for yourself.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-54512881319772466442015-05-09T12:18:00.002-07:002015-05-09T12:18:27.677-07:00Early Chinese Buddhist Sculpture at Harvard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsrg8MhcbcuXu0DZ83QUncXjTlKLWteMcAKRjIbyv9TUzyfVOs55z8EUSiJgscbqLZsWGy4wWtIFUjn_QqP2ks1sAk_frJxN_Chyphenhyphen6Kq6p3PINIp887Us17GE2PXTqherwg0wfa7fMlwi2/s1600/ryan_fogg29_arts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEsrg8MhcbcuXu0DZ83QUncXjTlKLWteMcAKRjIbyv9TUzyfVOs55z8EUSiJgscbqLZsWGy4wWtIFUjn_QqP2ks1sAk_frJxN_Chyphenhyphen6Kq6p3PINIp887Us17GE2PXTqherwg0wfa7fMlwi2/s400/ryan_fogg29_arts.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I finally got to Harvard a week ago to see the newly re-opened Harvard Art Museums in the location of the former Fogg Art Museum, which is what I knew when I was a student. Much lauded, this ambitious redo was just opened in November of 2014, but we all remember what this last winter was like, particularly in the Boston area. I wasn't about to brave the blizzards and snowdrifts! Designed by Renzo Piano, the renovations cost 350 million dollars and features what he calls, "the light machine", which is in reality, just a big skylight. The result of this extraordinarily expensive renovation is quite ugly from the outside, the "light machine" towers above the old building like some sort of sci-fi smokestack or other mechanical thing. However, fortunately, the galleries themselves are quite nice, and they are streaming with light generally, even when it doesn't serve the art. <br />
<br />
The galleries displaying their early Chinese Buddhist sculpture, the focus of this post, is a case in point. They are on the ground floor off the courtyard, and do not benefit from the light coming through the "light machine", rather many are displayed against glass exterior walls, so are back lit, and impossible to photograph. In person one can see them reasonably well, ones eyes compensate in a way a camera does not. However they are not displayed to their best advantage. Surprisingly I discovered in researching for this post, the complete collection of Harvard's early Chinese Buddhist sculptures is not on display, strange given all the money spent and the larger exhibition spaces that were created. Some of the pieces not on view are major, as I remembered them my memory which was confirmed by consulting the Harvard museum website which does have the entire collection available online. That much is to their credit, many museums still only have a fraction of their collections online. <br />
<br />
I will feature in this post the pieces on view currently that most relate to the material I have been fortunate to handle. Chief among them is the piece below, in two images, one I took showing the difficult lighting conditions, the other from the Harvard website, optimally if not dramatically lit.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG8n-a9jj83vTdqNGfgD00hZEU_yizPYjpMXDn21NwsqROqSjOJ5o98FZa5qWOasCy2nUAud_1iVPqD3v4HocbNquFWuMZdXP3nasUiL4XAcp2LKRG-7y7hk2jLB9QZVNAGhnk36xyHqli/s320/IMG_5728.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My photograph of the Bodhisattva statue</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZQ9M3TyyB19SvrQWjfRcL09YB_CQ_dX8N7HrkfwbZg68ERLKtOsX0TBPclD5mI6pogEpuBfnAcX8tU2qkr27EwkzKNsNlqyHghkCTXOqQjiA1ZEyfw1b-wMhcp8H5muPbtr6FYQTPXYW/s1600/11926990.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZQ9M3TyyB19SvrQWjfRcL09YB_CQ_dX8N7HrkfwbZg68ERLKtOsX0TBPclD5mI6pogEpuBfnAcX8tU2qkr27EwkzKNsNlqyHghkCTXOqQjiA1ZEyfw1b-wMhcp8H5muPbtr6FYQTPXYW/s320/11926990.jpeg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from the Harvard website of the same sculpture</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The sculpture above is a statue of a Bodhisattva, carved in marble with extensive traces of original polychromy and gold leaf. It is quite large, 62 1/2 inches tall, about life sized. It is highly adorned with a lot of jewelry, which is typical in this period of sculptures of Bodhisattvas. It is dated to the Sui Dynasty, 581-618 A.D., which was when China was finally reunified for the first time in the four centuries after the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 A.D. This sculpture, along with its companion, which is not on view currently at the museum, and which I featured in a post <a href="http://tomswope.blogspot.com/search?q=Buddhist+sculpture" target="_blank">before</a>, was key to my education in art history. When I was a student at Harvard, I wasn't particularly interested in Chinese art, but this sculpture and a few others at Harvard impressed me nonetheless. It is large, fairly complete for its great age and in a remarkable state of preservation with its remaining paint and gold leaf. And it is beautiful, very finely carved. It also has great seriousness, and grandeur with its elegant slim proportions and hieratic straight pose. It is quite unlike later Chinese sculpture which is lush and curvy and not so interesting or impressive to me in general. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The next pieces must all come from the same find, they are all of marble, and retain a lot of their original paint and gold leaf. However none are as fine as the Bodhisattva above, see below.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-PbN8-Y798pW-vq8fgGcDYVpgmzLDVjuEYH8LHhoKjnUXr5pSfWSLPJ4_4Og_QrPmnMKkjsSKd2KG2VZfmXa7ZAPv9yke3j4I6XOGzEqnKC4wyZ4GlkQCsyMDRPvLVPMt1smplPFAsXv/s1600/IMG_5731+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5-PbN8-Y798pW-vq8fgGcDYVpgmzLDVjuEYH8LHhoKjnUXr5pSfWSLPJ4_4Og_QrPmnMKkjsSKd2KG2VZfmXa7ZAPv9yke3j4I6XOGzEqnKC4wyZ4GlkQCsyMDRPvLVPMt1smplPFAsXv/s400/IMG_5731+-+Version+2.jpg" width="148" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Statue of a monk at Harvard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1Lv7TLdVXIMwkLxLwmSFKA6vdirknbUNZrs9c_TNT62RX7U8W2KmQvn2qrbZIVMv3VdPZh_moho4MrJCjFwuKPCaWxoV4rMONCXkQYiMnA0NiRVGZwPbo7SwxCC3Fxz2L-xFehWDzTUF/s1600/IMG_5742+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1Lv7TLdVXIMwkLxLwmSFKA6vdirknbUNZrs9c_TNT62RX7U8W2KmQvn2qrbZIVMv3VdPZh_moho4MrJCjFwuKPCaWxoV4rMONCXkQYiMnA0NiRVGZwPbo7SwxCC3Fxz2L-xFehWDzTUF/s320/IMG_5742+-+Version+2.jpg" width="112" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Statue of a Bodhisattva at Harvard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHB6sSXXrLt45U82JYwdOLoXPtY7aLjrpOECwSn_L3Yn6lKMF6dQfGviR2EEssOrOaAYakaH-sz1Q9wYeaIFNFhHQemOS1FUi7vjy78UKRCJ0Yie-t7dqY5QKmYWrhBfJw6mjXJ4WcGkL/s1600/IMG_5748+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHB6sSXXrLt45U82JYwdOLoXPtY7aLjrpOECwSn_L3Yn6lKMF6dQfGviR2EEssOrOaAYakaH-sz1Q9wYeaIFNFhHQemOS1FUi7vjy78UKRCJ0Yie-t7dqY5QKmYWrhBfJw6mjXJ4WcGkL/s320/IMG_5748+-+Version+2.jpg" width="129" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2nd statue of a monk at Harvard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
These are all my photographs, as these sculptures are not displayed against the glass exterior walls. All are marble, and about 3 feet or a little more in height, and all date to the Northern Qi Dynasty, 550 - 577 A.D. They are all very similar to each other, the two monk sculptures are a pair, and the Bodhisattva is very related in its quality and style. All are well preserved in terms of their surface, missing only their hands, but none are particularly finely carved. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_GeIegsklNLGgub-QwM9OGV16ybqOR969ABPO43rFOTa-_kUwYcC5a2ur_QarKm-6F3x_l_wMlj8RIZ3Qalm6eN8AYDnPW3XnAp1w9J0hIZUu_VKHNyXawlNJAeb9WvSjJVqIT88IFVn/s1600/46711543.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF_GeIegsklNLGgub-QwM9OGV16ybqOR969ABPO43rFOTa-_kUwYcC5a2ur_QarKm-6F3x_l_wMlj8RIZ3Qalm6eN8AYDnPW3XnAp1w9J0hIZUu_VKHNyXawlNJAeb9WvSjJVqIT88IFVn/s320/46711543.jpeg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seated Bodhisattva at Harvard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwyIVk4vjZzxcoZWdQqwUhroayGZEuC50209JbLjNEaAzvLxwV1F42abRNOi1T7FZoyKKtyn9Jy2hE7CWdlSc0yzjEF0eJn7-WB7E6drTVN2k1Snyv25AysnSw2u-EMpzMK_E8oIrCBVff/s1600/46711547.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwyIVk4vjZzxcoZWdQqwUhroayGZEuC50209JbLjNEaAzvLxwV1F42abRNOi1T7FZoyKKtyn9Jy2hE7CWdlSc0yzjEF0eJn7-WB7E6drTVN2k1Snyv25AysnSw2u-EMpzMK_E8oIrCBVff/s320/46711547.jpeg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2nd seated Bodhisattva at Harvard</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The pair of seated Bodhisattvas, also from the Grenville Winthrop bequest, are Northern Qi Dynasty, and are nearly intact, only missing the upraised right and left hands respectively. Of very fine quality and also preserving a great deal of original paint, gold leaf and surface, the relate to the other sculptures above, but are carved of limestone, and may come from a different site than the others. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTU3zuE_rSJUecEO1Jmdf4Y6D5APMpq_4rIg7VhwklIRkxbO877mkyLlyMh91QstcJONSBOH4HmJgOEKTwTCwfVjPeDf9swdyuAQTLIqhB2vuUJUz0nzOffE4RdNAaCkEI8LcyF0g140qw/s1600/IMG_5746+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTU3zuE_rSJUecEO1Jmdf4Y6D5APMpq_4rIg7VhwklIRkxbO877mkyLlyMh91QstcJONSBOH4HmJgOEKTwTCwfVjPeDf9swdyuAQTLIqhB2vuUJUz0nzOffE4RdNAaCkEI8LcyF0g140qw/s320/IMG_5746+-+Version+2.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marble Buddha head at Harvard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The marble Buddha head above is exquisite and one of my favorites even though it is a fragment, whereas the prior works discussed are all nearly intact. From a life sized sculpture the quality of the marble, surface and carving is exceptional. It has the deeply meditative expression that one finds in the best of Buddhist sculpture. Again, the head was backlit, so it does not photograph well in situ.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSLelTiNW5a2FN2yTTcUtgYzitHjTCAgkPfZCEncDNNyRZP3HoWB6CaA13zXrTI-SlZf3KgZFQVGv5Fk8e7cWaGM_s-9t8Sv-Gy5K4S9arAVcBAVyb0hfz24DpHex5qPvPeOMUUMAI_jsy/s1600/44859309-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSLelTiNW5a2FN2yTTcUtgYzitHjTCAgkPfZCEncDNNyRZP3HoWB6CaA13zXrTI-SlZf3KgZFQVGv5Fk8e7cWaGM_s-9t8Sv-Gy5K4S9arAVcBAVyb0hfz24DpHex5qPvPeOMUUMAI_jsy/s320/44859309-2.jpeg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Small marble seated Buddha at Harvard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVBMjRaDp3PRF8UujweSJXtO562mxuXOU4fL-VmjfnMHa57H_l_3tc5Raq99r5UXIIfYWZ9eP2gOOo1h5YAkYM3ZLSVh6Cz4pIVNkKq03gE7ovnJudVWIy7VT9uqYZwUdG92jTSPD6tLO/s1600/IMG_5762.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisVBMjRaDp3PRF8UujweSJXtO562mxuXOU4fL-VmjfnMHa57H_l_3tc5Raq99r5UXIIfYWZ9eP2gOOo1h5YAkYM3ZLSVh6Cz4pIVNkKq03gE7ovnJudVWIy7VT9uqYZwUdG92jTSPD6tLO/s320/IMG_5762.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of the seated Buddha above</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRV2yUsOSionR0yOxk2-4-I92pRdRTog-SGrMHcEOqwc8Z5rgWVYWHlyyhqBq-d9LoGLCIqnDud2YubIkYYY8u0-sATT4eAb8rJqMMgTD67uihCu_dIxXlBspVx1Hmxwf3EVpALYFfBtHG/s1600/IMG_5765.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRV2yUsOSionR0yOxk2-4-I92pRdRTog-SGrMHcEOqwc8Z5rgWVYWHlyyhqBq-d9LoGLCIqnDud2YubIkYYY8u0-sATT4eAb8rJqMMgTD67uihCu_dIxXlBspVx1Hmxwf3EVpALYFfBtHG/s320/IMG_5765.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another detail of the seated Buddha above</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
One of the greatest revelations was this small seated marble Buddha at Harvard, also Winthrop collection, that I don't remember from my youth. It was certainly there, but I may not have really noticed it. Only about 24 inches tall, it is intact and preserves most of its original pigment and surface. The pure white marble shines with its polished surfaces, contrasting the white skin areas with the painted clothing and lotus throne. The halo behind the head is also painted. The hands are exquisitely detailed with the palm lines and articulation of the fingers all clearly carved. Between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand the Buddha holds a small jewel, and the toes are also clearly carved and detailed of the foot visible opposite that hand. It, like the others above, is Northern Qi Dynasty, and may well come from the same find as the 3 marble sculptures featured. <br />
<br />
All the sculptures above come from the Northern Qi Dynasty, 550 - 577 A.D., which was a particularly brilliant moment for Chinese Buddhist sculpture. There are a few other pieces at Harvard worthy of mention that are before and after that period.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4_RI1gvd22hJreocR75GYZxnEpuEJTOP4ltLsSWfqztbkNlGHN8Pa57t1ppRK2ST3zWS0V-JRUQNMpfBvnPac6xlJkbf0QA5SWkYMoiHhCJs7jC6VV66BcrE0nd2oCFKoDg98YaF6wNV/s1600/IMG_5740+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4_RI1gvd22hJreocR75GYZxnEpuEJTOP4ltLsSWfqztbkNlGHN8Pa57t1ppRK2ST3zWS0V-JRUQNMpfBvnPac6xlJkbf0QA5SWkYMoiHhCJs7jC6VV66BcrE0nd2oCFKoDg98YaF6wNV/s320/IMG_5740+-+Version+2.jpg" width="247" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gilt bronze Buddha, Harvard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Foremost among the other pieces is this gilt bronze seated Buddha, which is one of the earliest and best of the surviving early Chinese Buddhist sculptures. It dates to the 3rd to 4th Centuries A.D., early Northern Wei Dynasty and strongly reflects the Indian, specifically Gandharan, prototypes on which it is based. It is large for a bronze, over 12 inches tall, and of much better quality than most other surviving early Chinese Buddhist bronze sculptures. One reason for the rarity of Chinese Buddhist sculpture from this time was a pogrom against Buddhism that destroyed the temples and sculptures in 460 A.D. This destructive purge seems to have been singularly successful in nearly erasing any trace of Buddhism, but was short lived, as immediately after the temples were rebuilt and there is much sculpture surviving from the later Northern Wei Dynasty. This bronze is so Indian in style that out of context it would be taken at first glance for a Gandharan bronze Buddha. Only a few small stylistic details make it clear that it is Chinese and not Indian in origin. As such it is a wonderful illustration of how Buddhism and Buddhist art reached China through contact with India.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZaw8Lx8FCHzwOrf97kDsXS4Um6Kf3T-4h7Eexy8kEhhu7QP4IvzhLtFP-O__Th1ssk61-Zb0n_FIQBCZU0-osTnlXP_MVbScku_IlTryqQIkTHy35gBxjsn6bFtXHKRotZoWjyHBFIpM/s1600/IMG_5730+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIZaw8Lx8FCHzwOrf97kDsXS4Um6Kf3T-4h7Eexy8kEhhu7QP4IvzhLtFP-O__Th1ssk61-Zb0n_FIQBCZU0-osTnlXP_MVbScku_IlTryqQIkTHy35gBxjsn6bFtXHKRotZoWjyHBFIpM/s320/IMG_5730+-+Version+2.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tang Buddha at Harvard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This seated sandstone Buddha is one of the most famous in the collection as it epitomizes high Tang style art of the mid 8th Century A.D., which was the height of the greatest period of Chinese civilization. China at this time was the pre-eminent world empire, and its capital, Chang'an, was the most populous city in the world at this time, with a population of some 2 million people. China was very cosmopolitan at this time, the silk route brought people from all over the world into the empire and there were foreign sections in Chang'an reflecting the empires reach and diversity. The art is supremely confident and completely Chinese. You can see that in the sculpture above, the features and style are totally Chinese there is no mistaking it for anything else, and yet it has not lapsed into the softness and lassitude that characterize later Chinese sculpture. This Buddha comes from one of the cave temples at Tianlongshan, which was a major center of Buddhist worship patronized by the imperial family. It is large, nearly life sized at 43 1/2 inches tall, and very finely carved in sandstone, preserving traces of its original polychrome. It is featured in most survey books on Chinese sculpture as it is is one of the best examples of its type extant.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjQvLwuwox1jZ8vCV_mej-C0-_OaRa5ocFgtluPciTKWVxfvb5RVenK6_m0-wo8MYHZwXdpF0qHLiOY2LBowPwdJa7_D0kvAG3ZM924QOCj-ejKnMQ3u63D5unro-uNiq3hJakG9iWenK/s1600/IMG_5788+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjQvLwuwox1jZ8vCV_mej-C0-_OaRa5ocFgtluPciTKWVxfvb5RVenK6_m0-wo8MYHZwXdpF0qHLiOY2LBowPwdJa7_D0kvAG3ZM924QOCj-ejKnMQ3u63D5unro-uNiq3hJakG9iWenK/s320/IMG_5788+-+Version+2.jpg" width="175" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clay and stucco Bodhisattva sculpture at Harvard</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEp2iGAUWnPUA-_Bich5A5u5teBvr3ttwY3EOPaKPgEJBydJnlWOytnxK8cCoMB9iP5uBzjkfuxCbvaqB3AEXd7ChCYUblH63OCQp3u5npW_m_WpNTKGy3eQu4R_tirClfeYdK0FiMPvxO/s1600/IMG_5710.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEp2iGAUWnPUA-_Bich5A5u5teBvr3ttwY3EOPaKPgEJBydJnlWOytnxK8cCoMB9iP5uBzjkfuxCbvaqB3AEXd7ChCYUblH63OCQp3u5npW_m_WpNTKGy3eQu4R_tirClfeYdK0FiMPvxO/s320/IMG_5710.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3/4 view of the stucco Bodhisattva above, at Harvard</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Last I will mention this worshiping bodhisattva above, which is rare survivor and example outside of China of an important class of sculptures which don't survive because of their fragile materials. It comes from a cave temple in Dunhuang and was part of an assembly of 8 attendant figures around a central seated Buddha. Dating to the early Tang Dynasty, this reflects the high cosmopolitan style of Chinese art of this time, sensuous, luxurious, but still serious in intent and feeling. The medium allowed for great freedom of the modeling, it is only because it was in a cave that this fragile medium survived. It is one of the only and best such sculptures in the West. <br />
<br />
All the sculptures above come from one collection and bequest, that of Grenville Winthrop, who left his extensive and varied art collection to Harvard in 1943. The scion of one of Massachusetts oldest and most distinguished families, Winthrop was a pioneering collector. When going through the Harvard Museums I was struck by the fact that invariably, any work of art that caught my eye, had come from his collection. The range is quite amazing, the most beautiful Pre-Raphaelite works at the museum came from him, as well as much of the ancient art there, from Greece, Rome and most notably China. In reading up on him subsequently, I learned that he developed the best collection of Ingres outside of France, among other things. It was the Chinese collection he amassed that struck me when I was a student and still does now. He collected nearly 600 ancient Chinese jades, and many bronzes, as well as the early Buddhist sculptures above. <br />
<br />
A quote from him in response to an appeal from the Smithsonian Institution for his collection sums up his aim in giving it to Harvard:<br />
<br />
"I admit that more people of the "general public" will visit Washington than Cambridge, but I am not so much interested in the general public as I am in the Younger Generation whom I want to reach in their impressionable years and to prove to them that true art is founded on traditions and is not the product of any one country or century and that <i>Beauty</i> may e found in all countries and in all periods, provided the eye be trained to find it."<br />
<br />
His aim was certainly achieved, his collection made an impression on me when I was young and opened my eyes to Chinese art, which later has been of great benefit to me.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-36778193271868685642015-03-22T13:50:00.002-07:002015-03-22T13:50:50.088-07:00Asia Week, New York, March 2015, over heard trash talk!I was just in NYC earlier this week, to preview the Ellsworth Collection sale at Christie’s and see Asia Week. On view in different galleries, mostly on the Upper East Side, are a range of dealers, from Europe as well as New York and America, covering the full gamut of Asian art, from ancient to contemporary, and from Japan, Korea to Indian and Southeast Asian, and of course Chinese. I focus on the few dealers who handle ancient art. One of them was exhibiting at Friedman Vallois, on East 67th Street and Madison Avenue, from Milan, Dalton Somare. I am not familiar with them, but was very impressed with what they had on view, see below.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJG72HOdRQ79aAJW6kc5A7J9zRk3CnkRiEXmaUBV71ase0AMSVngMYxTynf99S1uz_PJ0VE02sXkqm_E3tz636Pp4PtB9sgYi3H2ksskIokeuIhy1BFk8dhNUK0w_btZ005Gyw_CYYFe8/s1600/large+Gandhara+Buddha+head+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJG72HOdRQ79aAJW6kc5A7J9zRk3CnkRiEXmaUBV71ase0AMSVngMYxTynf99S1uz_PJ0VE02sXkqm_E3tz636Pp4PtB9sgYi3H2ksskIokeuIhy1BFk8dhNUK0w_btZ005Gyw_CYYFe8/s1600/large+Gandhara+Buddha+head+1.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gandharan Head of a Buddha</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Prominently featured and very well displayed was this immense colossal head of a Buddha, Gandharan, from India, 2nd to 3rd Century A.D. Carved of grey schist, it is 68 cm tall, about 27 inches. A fragment from a larger sculpture, possibly a composite sculpture, it is a very imposing head. And beautiful.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_BNEWtx2Uz448laXgNH2fLAurEdyp_4sdVywV37Ym9PPGt8KOhDHujuBUIvnAd5inppt0YgSoqv0B76IHthgfeG6aUaNK6BXBH-kCWlSsO-mbi9iM3govOiT_wJD03tu_Qzk1qNOYqlI/s1600/large+Gandhara+Buddha+head+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_BNEWtx2Uz448laXgNH2fLAurEdyp_4sdVywV37Ym9PPGt8KOhDHujuBUIvnAd5inppt0YgSoqv0B76IHthgfeG6aUaNK6BXBH-kCWlSsO-mbi9iM3govOiT_wJD03tu_Qzk1qNOYqlI/s1600/large+Gandhara+Buddha+head+2.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">side view of the Gandharan Buddha head</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
While generally classical in style, as Gandharan art is, it has a very Indian cast of features. Highly stylized the eyes are strongly projecting, and the lips sensuously curved, the eyebrows arched and the nose straight. The surfaces are polished to a soft sheen, which I have seen on some Gandharan schist sculptures but not that often. It is a really beautiful and impressive head. They had a few other very good and unusual pieces as well, but this stood out. <br />
<br />
I went from this exhibition to another further up Madison Avenue, to a small gallery who also handles Gandharan art, but of a much more modest scale. There were a few people there engaged in conversation, a visitor and a man who I took to be the dealer. The visitor was saying that one had to be so careful of fakes and the dealer responded that when you see a piece so large and exceptional, you have to be suspicious. He could only be talking about the head I just saw. The coincidence was pretty amazing, but I wasn’t particularly surprised, this head was a stand out, and would attract interest and talk. However, the opinion of the dealer is one of the things that is wrong with the market, and illustrates how it operates.<br />
<br />
This type of casual talk is poisonous to the market. It feeds off the insecurity and ignorance of the buyers, but ultimately, damages faith in the market. From what I could see Dalton Somare are serious dealers who take what they do seriously. The pieces were very select and fine and were very well displayed. I am sure they do their due diligence and get expert opinions from scholars and perhaps even scientific examinations. I would want both types of opinions and reports on something as extraordinary as this head is. To tell a buyer that the piece is a fake is unfair, but typical of how dealers undercut each other. And who is to say differently? Unless you already know a great deal and are confident of your eye and opinion, it is easy to be swayed but such negative opinions. And it is corrosive. I believe it is driven by jealousy. The dealer so opining had minor pieces in comparison, very nice, pretty, but relatively insignificant in comparison. No wonder he felt he need to put down this other dealer. <br />
<br />
My word of advise to my reader is when you hear a dealer tell you something you just saw is a fake that you think is noteworthy, be suspicious, not of the piece but of the dealer. They probably have an agenda, and it isn’t pursuit of the truth. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-73563516565071329902015-03-22T13:28:00.000-07:002015-03-22T13:28:04.836-07:00Amazing results, the Robert Ellsworth sale at Christies March 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifInR5mH7_vWNR4yqJ3lwRQAA0CdCeCbkBMRxdDPJk7zmR18k4LgjpWiHONeIE5q2MUEW0W2KxtQtuwariCOdgjseXXffsgQainHnKPOvCXmfbyeluIVNzyqhyphenhyphen5ndjsxNmQOy3Q48nSmQY/s1600/IMG_5443+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
Robert Ellsworth was a pioneering dealer of Chinese and Asian art in New York from the 1960’s into the 1990’s. I unfortunately never got to know him, I did meet him briefly at an art fair, and was impressed by his emerald green jade set in a high karat gold ring. I was told by a friend who would know, that the jade was of such fine color and quality that it was worth 2 million, and this was in the 1990’s! I never got to see his apartment, which was legendary, large and on Fifth Avenue, full of fine antique American and Chinese furniture and of course, Asian antiquities. When he died last year, the extensive obituaries lauded his taste and importance as a dealer in early Asian art, and his social connections.<br />
<br />
Christie’s got his estate to sell, and did so just this week, in a series of 6 sales over 5 days, the last day being today as I write this. The sale has been eagerly anticipated by myself and everyone involved in the trade of Asian antiquities. Particularly exciting to me was the inclusion of a number of good early Chinese Buddhist sculptures, which you don’t often see coming up at auction. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifInR5mH7_vWNR4yqJ3lwRQAA0CdCeCbkBMRxdDPJk7zmR18k4LgjpWiHONeIE5q2MUEW0W2KxtQtuwariCOdgjseXXffsgQainHnKPOvCXmfbyeluIVNzyqhyphenhyphen5ndjsxNmQOy3Q48nSmQY/s1600/IMG_5443+-+Version+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifInR5mH7_vWNR4yqJ3lwRQAA0CdCeCbkBMRxdDPJk7zmR18k4LgjpWiHONeIE5q2MUEW0W2KxtQtuwariCOdgjseXXffsgQainHnKPOvCXmfbyeluIVNzyqhyphenhyphen5ndjsxNmQOy3Q48nSmQY/s1600/IMG_5443+-+Version+2.jpg" height="640" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lot 755 from the Christie's Ellsworth auction</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
One of the pieces caught the eye of my best client, and that was lot 755, a small limestone statue of Buddha, broken above the ankles and missing its right hand. It is Chinese, from the Northern Qi Dynasty, 550 - 577 A.D., limestone, and 18 1/4 inches tall. It has extensive remains of paint and some gold leaf, which add to its appeal. I was poised to bid on the piece, which was estimated $40,000. to $60,000., and I was ready go above the estimate by a bit. I didn’t get a chance to even bid, the little Buddha sold for 1.5 million dollars hammer price, which doesn’t include the 20% buyer premium! This is an amazing price for what is a sweet, but modest example of Northern Qi sculpture. I have bought and sold much better examples for a fraction of this price. <br />
<br />
One wonders at this extraordinarily high price, probably a record for this type of sculpture at auction, certainly a record for a piece of this size and condition of this period. The provenance had a lot to do with it, but should that really justify pricing a piece that I would expect to be priced at $50,000., or $60,000., to sell for 1.5 million?<br />
<br />
Robert Ellsworth was a great dealer, and one assumes that his pieces were purchased a number of years ago, but frequently the catalog simply stated for this piece and many others, "<i>The collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, New York, before 2000"</i> What this really means, Christie's had no idea of when exactly or from whom Robert Ellsworth had purchased the piece. It is safe bet that it was before 2000 simply because of his advanced age and that he had essentially retired from dealing by this time. However, it is hardly the type of precisely documented provenance that the auction houses claim to require to sell pieces! The reality is that the "collection" was really the leavings of a great dealers inventory, the pieces he didn't sell while active, rather than a collection in the sense of a deliberate gathering of the finest pieces for ones own pleasure of ownership. Even so, it was an impressive group of objects amongst which were some real gems. Christie's gave it the full "Liz Taylor" treatment, a hagiography at the beginning of each of the 6 volumes of the full set of the print catalogs which were printed in a larger size than normal. The display incorporated some of the antique furniture and other objects that Robert Ellsworth had in his home, and the catalog had lots of glamorous views of his 960 Fifth Avenue apartment, showing how he lived with the pieces. <br />
<br />
Robert Ellsworth had the good fortune to be at the right place at the right time. He formed friendships with people who were able to advance his career early on, starting in the 1940's, and was dealing when the art market was really just forming for Asian art in Post War America. He bought his apartment at 960 Fifth Avenue in 1975, when someone who was just rich, but not super-rich, could buy a great apartment in NYC. From there he entertained and showed his wares in grand style. He had the means and the courage to purchase the legendary Christian Humann collection, called the Pan Asian Collection, in 1981. This gave him the inventory for his career. Christian Humann was an heir to the Lazard family banking fortune, who created the Pan Asian collection. I was told by Matthias Komor, who knew all of these people, and for who I worked for in the early 1980's, that Christian Humann's family was very disappointed that upon his death, there was no money but an apartment full of Asian Art. It was considered one of the greatest collections of early Asian art ever assembled, and Ellsworth's purchase of it was a stroke of genius. However, the little Northern Qi Buddha, lot 755, was not from the Pan Asian collection, nor were many of the pieces in the auction. <br />
<br />
I think this illustrates one of the facts of the art market, particularly for antiquities, its irrationality. I’m happy to see a Chinese Buddhist sculpture sell for so much, it helps validate what I’m dealing in. However, I don’t expect to get this type of price, although I wish I could!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-39592778445332206822015-03-22T13:24:00.000-07:002015-03-22T13:24:13.692-07:00A story of two Busts in the Metropolitan MuseumI want to start addressing in my posts, one of the central issues in dealing with ancient objects, that is authenticity, and how what role it plays in the market. To start, I will tell the story of two exceptional Roman portrait busts, now proudly on view in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyggLlUb3Fpii5RtKK9Umol5gX8WPqOsZP4mnFCFs2M2tjAAnZP_-uKRDNoL5A7z3WY9DEaqfcNhtfpLEECeC0DZ4mgb2fo9uEDSOZ7MCzxGw60mQ4q6I_YzduALrIfOE2bIE6_jCSSgeT/s1600/IMG_3793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyggLlUb3Fpii5RtKK9Umol5gX8WPqOsZP4mnFCFs2M2tjAAnZP_-uKRDNoL5A7z3WY9DEaqfcNhtfpLEECeC0DZ4mgb2fo9uEDSOZ7MCzxGw60mQ4q6I_YzduALrIfOE2bIE6_jCSSgeT/s1600/IMG_3793.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bust of Matidia the Younger, sister of Sabina</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GrGJS7N7SX-yF3JP_n_D-KA3b-w5Fnka0UfyTh_Ntkk3ip7vheDPmuxh-yovY8cCpCTdQMH95KQnzbL3PyJ_tKbsIBgdyp5xujAqw56Q3aThjh8vhTaW6OCi1iPLICe-EdrqZ3Djx3C7/s1600/IMG_3794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GrGJS7N7SX-yF3JP_n_D-KA3b-w5Fnka0UfyTh_Ntkk3ip7vheDPmuxh-yovY8cCpCTdQMH95KQnzbL3PyJ_tKbsIBgdyp5xujAqw56Q3aThjh8vhTaW6OCi1iPLICe-EdrqZ3Djx3C7/s1600/IMG_3794.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bust of Sabina</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
These wonderful portraits busts date to the reign of Hadrian, ca 122 - 128 A.D., are complete, including their socle bases, and in superb condition. They do however have a heavy dark encrustation that has proven difficult and potentially damaging to remove, and so has been left on. You can see on the left cheek of Matidia where an attempt was made to scrape it off, and the attempt seems to have been abandoned when it was clear that it was damaging the ancient surface underneath. Heavy encrustation notwithstanding, these are beautiful sculptures of the highest quality attainable in the Roman period, or any time. The surfaces that are exposed are gorgeous, with their original soft polish and finish preserved. I have always admired these busts, and I have known them for decades.<br />
<br />
It is nice when ones advanced age becomes an asset, and in this case, it is. I have been involved in the antiquities world long enough to have seen these busts sold twice, and on view at the Metropolitan Museum twice. The first time was in 1983, at Sotheby's New York, lots 121 and 123. Listed as "property of various owners", they both sold for $154,000., which includes the buyers commission. At the time, that was a fairly high price, but not outrageously so. Their provenance was very mysterious, it was rumored amongst the dealers that they came from an unnamed Mexican collection. Somewhat hard to believe, as their quality and condition would have merited attention from the scholarly world had they been at all publicly known of. However apparently they weren't, popping up at Sotheby's New York for sale.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMMkSoL2fPMHdC7tCmL6DM2rv95SQ8NHPmVED0l5lGMUY5dWUYzpORpVJfAUS-YfB8hFzsBNS8ZeNn1o-UIxedUGcuioC6ABwA7Yd9AoFAl5L-WY2w7gHkQyN2IbvzL8yY6km6ySyW-Ii/s1600/IMG_5450+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNMMkSoL2fPMHdC7tCmL6DM2rv95SQ8NHPmVED0l5lGMUY5dWUYzpORpVJfAUS-YfB8hFzsBNS8ZeNn1o-UIxedUGcuioC6ABwA7Yd9AoFAl5L-WY2w7gHkQyN2IbvzL8yY6km6ySyW-Ii/s1600/IMG_5450+-+Version+2.jpg" height="238" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sotheby's June 10&11, 1983 catalog page</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1k9MqNlY7HI3sb4ShdaJDItdGWLKD7UdE_gCeRPQyoX6XJhj0AldaFPRr1GqXUz1DMPS5I0Eb-HIvSXV4e473ETg-tvPzjbB4In00FCMUNt0bM_gN2zFwUtHAf_BipcFYi8cw_D5Oq5S/s1600/IMG_5451+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1k9MqNlY7HI3sb4ShdaJDItdGWLKD7UdE_gCeRPQyoX6XJhj0AldaFPRr1GqXUz1DMPS5I0Eb-HIvSXV4e473ETg-tvPzjbB4In00FCMUNt0bM_gN2zFwUtHAf_BipcFYi8cw_D5Oq5S/s1600/IMG_5451+-+Version+2.jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sotheby's June 10&11, 1983 catalog page</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
They were purportedly purchased by Basia Johnson, who was collecting mostly old masters, but also some antiquities. However it was rumored that she never took delivery of the busts, because the dealers who she was buying antiquities from, Robin Symes and Christo Michaelides told her they were fakes. When told this I was incredulous, everything about these busts spoke of their authenticity, their beauty, the perfect ancient style they are carved in, and their condition. While the encrustation was marring, it seemed incontrovertible evidence of their antiquity to me, this type of patina take millennia to form. It was also hard to understand why Robin Symes would damn them, except for they didn't come from him, and he didn't want Basia Johnson purchasing from anywhere but his gallery. Even at auction evidently. Fortunately, Robin's damning of them didn't carry weight with the Metropolitan Museum, who put them on exhibit, for several years from 1984 to 1989.<br />
<br />
A little more than decade after the first sale, the portrait busts came up again at Sotheby's New York, where Robin Symes condemnation apparently meant little. This was in the December 14th, 1994 New York sale, lots 90 and 91.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRNrpJ4hY7-ucwjU9ooieQEqRa7lJwJr2TRurKWYGC-GiiJpdt8XlcW8Itt_tkbdxGL4nQ8MGskvu9a9eHqYnfYRbpbmHMHgmnZRPJeuW8dqqtvcI-1-NsGfnsa7b5ZbfMH6ONK0ZYgQY/s1600/Portrait+busts+Sothebys+1994+sale+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRNrpJ4hY7-ucwjU9ooieQEqRa7lJwJr2TRurKWYGC-GiiJpdt8XlcW8Itt_tkbdxGL4nQ8MGskvu9a9eHqYnfYRbpbmHMHgmnZRPJeuW8dqqtvcI-1-NsGfnsa7b5ZbfMH6ONK0ZYgQY/s1600/Portrait+busts+Sothebys+1994+sale+1.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">December 14, 1994 Sotheby's sale catalog page</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0W6WVP15F03zKtc441x3r7mACvVNTiwNRXBilHj7LY32DfnggJxAnwT9rv_V1rxVzWkh-BeduKD3eWa97b57Kjr_82F2obE-_utiruMkngclqOd9k27ei5QdWNPtA7_0cU79t04gPBKC/s1600/Portrait+busts+Sothebys+1994+sale+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0W6WVP15F03zKtc441x3r7mACvVNTiwNRXBilHj7LY32DfnggJxAnwT9rv_V1rxVzWkh-BeduKD3eWa97b57Kjr_82F2obE-_utiruMkngclqOd9k27ei5QdWNPtA7_0cU79t04gPBKC/s1600/Portrait+busts+Sothebys+1994+sale+2.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">December 14, 1994 Sotheby's sale catalog page</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
This time the busts sold for $290,000., each, hammer price, so the buyers premium would have been added to that. I was in the room, and thus got only the hammer price at the time they sold. Then, about a year later, they re-appeared on view at the Metropolitan Museum of art, on loan this time from the Dubroff family. Mr. Dubroff has been purchasing antiquities, only from auction, and loaning pieces to museums. There are a number of his pieces currently on view at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, these being two of his best pieces. <br />
<br />
The point of this tale is a cautionary one about how questions of authenticity are used by dealers to sabotage other dealers, and control collectors. There can really be no real question about these busts antiquity, they were raised simply to undercut a buyer's willingness to buy from someone, anyone else, but them. This is more frequent than one would like to believe and should make one skeptical when you hear a dealer talking about an object being fake that is beautiful and otherwise seems right.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-55816726273648484542015-03-01T12:48:00.001-08:002015-03-01T12:50:27.992-08:00Dating a Statue of the Buddha<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A Standing Buddha Statue </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAL7XIu6PR_In-_UHXwt0_fN5T2-rFEUXGO80qTSRQwSS7lFYUWGOxfcT68x8ql401Nzo1z-VoqWGthMTKDI3ASWPotzSj3tD_DCCWsgeLlWHh7QNE6atwn6B6bSm_Sd16tAKX0aEFJUqt/s1600/IMG_5334+-+Version+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAL7XIu6PR_In-_UHXwt0_fN5T2-rFEUXGO80qTSRQwSS7lFYUWGOxfcT68x8ql401Nzo1z-VoqWGthMTKDI3ASWPotzSj3tD_DCCWsgeLlWHh7QNE6atwn6B6bSm_Sd16tAKX0aEFJUqt/s1600/IMG_5334+-+Version+2.jpg" height="640" width="289" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywTpmoxvdlgibH6ZocKJAFkHVI2nEyXum8i3mbFFjPkGsKPQ7C9LXkh4mFAUZJOUc63z0cAvThnR2EeZ0yOIozoFGYY4mJW6eVD0uBCKf7qrGiyHWeZ7-BUJOb9F6Ovb7yBHy1kJmF0hF/s1600/IMG_0550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
Standing Buddha.<br />
China, Northern Qi to Sui Dynasty, 570 - 600 A.D.<br />
Limestone, Height: 43 inches.<br />
<br />
This statue of a Buddha is just under life sized, 43 inches in total, with both arms broken off where the hands would have projected. The quality of the sculpture is very high, the forms are sensuous and the head is sensitively carved and beautiful. While the form of the Buddha is standard and familiar, the dating of this piece is actually not so straightforward. I will analyze the piece and show parallels to attempt to place it in time.<br />
<br />
The form of the Buddha with the robes having low relief folds close to the body forming a column, and the elegant restraint of the overall figure, generally date the sculpture to the late 6th Century. However, certain elements of the face, ushnisha, and the folds of the robe are not typical of the Northern Qi, 550 - 577 A.D., but may indicate a date just after, making this a transitional style sculpture. I will take each element separately to attempt to place it more exactly.<br />
<br />
One dates a sculpture from the head, so we will start there. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUWL0j-mG2JP_ofmb3EJ__8OgT77kBU_hIeMjMWJHQF0MlGvTwg9CDyJsx3fm7u5vI5VBrmgciFyvfRRkNY_J6To03xUQgmoJp009pWQF_YnHIAJDzs8EBjwp0t5-3vdmhTG3SxPTqtvS/s1600/IMG_0560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUWL0j-mG2JP_ofmb3EJ__8OgT77kBU_hIeMjMWJHQF0MlGvTwg9CDyJsx3fm7u5vI5VBrmgciFyvfRRkNY_J6To03xUQgmoJp009pWQF_YnHIAJDzs8EBjwp0t5-3vdmhTG3SxPTqtvS/s1600/IMG_0560.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
The cranial lump which is a mark of the Buddha’s transcendent wisdom, the ushnisha , here is defined and distinct, although subtly so. During the Northern Qi Dynasty, the ushnisha is melded into the overall form of the head to create more of a cone head, but here, it is clearly defined, even if only just so. <br />
<br />
The long lobes of the ears are a marker of the Buddha, found in all periods of Buddhist sculpture. <br />
<br />
The face is rounded, and distinctly Chinese looking with its full cheeks, small full mouth and small nose. The features are highly stylized, the eyes are swooping curves, under arched brows. The chin is small, and slightly double chinned, you can barely make out the line defining it underneath it. The neck is smooth and columnar, with no fat rings, as are found more commonly after the Northern Qi. The face, with its rounded form is moving towards the fullness developed in the Tang Dynasty, but the clarity and elegance of it is still Northern Qi. <br />
<br />
Based on the slightly distinct but still subtle ushnisha, the fullness and Chinese appearance of the face, and smooth neck, I feel we have a late Northern Qi sculpture here, whose style anticipates the later developments in Chinese sculpture, almost a transitional piece.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQ9c1g7RjcvuiZaApiQR1obmjlq1asC46wMUogH_ZMZ2gPviYwgwW7skP0sz4GsuERbuwOeGKp7CZehPr9c70Ri3kR1-3OZdT4frK4moCCoMPaXvM4oYLnIJaeCDRlSUquj1_6JJ8uUL3/s1600/IMG_5357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQ9c1g7RjcvuiZaApiQR1obmjlq1asC46wMUogH_ZMZ2gPviYwgwW7skP0sz4GsuERbuwOeGKp7CZehPr9c70Ri3kR1-3OZdT4frK4moCCoMPaXvM4oYLnIJaeCDRlSUquj1_6JJ8uUL3/s1600/IMG_5357.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Another stylistic feature that helps to place this statue in time is the treatment of the robe, which has low relief crisp folds and is close to the body. On each upper arm below the shoulder are a pair of folds which flow down the upper arms in an S shaped, almost flame like, curving line. Symmetrically mirroring each other, they frame the central torso. This feature is found in two marble Buddha statues that I have found, which are dated to the Sui Dynasty, 581-618 A.D., see below.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uLZHXzenLUPZAH5E8mg1I2CeRKsPZ-iACI7aaQEzZF9mCHwhjOip5j05QP3AiLJS5ZdiPkJPEKHB9b28ktYxgHzo5RXHzgeSf6BNLSd800IdO9shp29i8eSEBW_rDpR71JOChFWFmJWT/s1600/IMG_5359+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uLZHXzenLUPZAH5E8mg1I2CeRKsPZ-iACI7aaQEzZF9mCHwhjOip5j05QP3AiLJS5ZdiPkJPEKHB9b28ktYxgHzo5RXHzgeSf6BNLSd800IdO9shp29i8eSEBW_rDpR71JOChFWFmJWT/s1600/IMG_5359+-+Version+2.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Similarly the treatment of the bottom hems of the robes is helpful in dating. While the lower left side is broken off, enough survives of the right side to see that the robe ended in a series of scrolling curves for the ends of the vertical pleats of the robe, echoing the scrolling hem of the outer robe above. On the left side the outer robe bottom has a central pleat whose hem forms a spade shape, flanked by curves on either side. The under robe, whose hem is lower is broken off on that side, but it no doubt mirrored the other side, rather than followed the upper robes folds. This is partly due to the asymmetrical treatment of the folds crossing the body from left to right in curving descending arches. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5NR00458aNtyAj-E67bkkVma2SCnh22jcTmmw9-jGR0SzC8P7e1fAJztl-Q57W7ncmuVF9JtqaQmElnHHsF_jIHbqwR_RaOfbVEBe-2rotZ9P88bUM8k16q929JS2jtO8IXngWg_lFPq/s1600/IMG_5355+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA5NR00458aNtyAj-E67bkkVma2SCnh22jcTmmw9-jGR0SzC8P7e1fAJztl-Q57W7ncmuVF9JtqaQmElnHHsF_jIHbqwR_RaOfbVEBe-2rotZ9P88bUM8k16q929JS2jtO8IXngWg_lFPq/s1600/IMG_5355+-+Version+2.jpg" height="640" width="276" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Above is an image of a Buddha statue in the Toronto, Royal Ontario Museum, dated to 577 A.D., which would be the end of the Northern Qi, to early Northern Zhou Dynasties. You can see the folds on each upper arm which come from a vertical, before curving down, mirroring each other. The scrolling wave pattern of the lower under robe lower hem relates to ours, as well. The overall columnar form created by the robes close to the body, with the crisp shallow folds is quite similar to our statue. However the head is quite different, they eyes in particular do not have the curving upward flame like curving form as in our sculpture. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyFc-1bxMP9nwezZRR5h_Dg1XRjemAxnOu4FC9ZETy7vI9oQtQ7qV5bBmmF7MMHcUfFgoePpFle281NLaLwecfN1CbTuv9YAmPGJ1tQqrWCObjDz5ukiEUT96pe99aJMuuUXFE-H8iy_O/s1600/BMmarbleBuddha3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHyFc-1bxMP9nwezZRR5h_Dg1XRjemAxnOu4FC9ZETy7vI9oQtQ7qV5bBmmF7MMHcUfFgoePpFle281NLaLwecfN1CbTuv9YAmPGJ1tQqrWCObjDz5ukiEUT96pe99aJMuuUXFE-H8iy_O/s1600/BMmarbleBuddha3.jpg" height="640" width="321" /></a></div>
<br />
This colossal statue is in the British Museum, Chinese, and which has an inscription dating it to 585 A.D., early Sui Dynasty. It is carved of marble, and stands 5.78 meters tall, nearly 19 feet high. It is a truly magnificent statue, unfortunately displayed in a stairwell at the British Museum, so you cannot get a good view of it. <br />
<br />
The overall columnar form of the statue with its crisp low relief folds falling across the body, and the mirroring folds along the upper arms, relate to our statue. The scrolling wave pattern of the lower hems of the upper robe and larger waves of the under, lower robe, are similar but more stylized than in our sculpture. The head of the BM statue is quite different, more hieratic and remote, than the warmer curves and expression on our statue. This helps to put our statue within the Northern Qi style, perhaps late, or transitional, just at the end of that period. Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-16329016993743078482014-11-29T13:59:00.000-08:002014-11-29T13:59:52.417-08:00Yet another Poniatowski gem discovered!I just recently purchased a gem set in a gold frame hung from chains to be used as a pendant, that is one of the Poniatowski Gems. The dealer knew what it was, but not which one, and I have been able to find it in the Beazley Archives, where it's current whereabouts are marked as unknown. No longer, it can re-emerge into the view of the wider world. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDJZUfzVwQG3GVJzMRgmp44Q3Qsw0uLyUm9GSWx4j8T83oZjM5powjG0KZ5BYbKoJpwvnm23W4W7Vyv2Mu6SK2VoPqq1o3BgYpoDw_oVe-R9e6TU1bau4JmYyoKtK59Y2wSCBr1v7fB0xo/s1600/Ulysses+and+Aeolus+gem+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDJZUfzVwQG3GVJzMRgmp44Q3Qsw0uLyUm9GSWx4j8T83oZjM5powjG0KZ5BYbKoJpwvnm23W4W7Vyv2Mu6SK2VoPqq1o3BgYpoDw_oVe-R9e6TU1bau4JmYyoKtK59Y2wSCBr1v7fB0xo/s1600/Ulysses+and+Aeolus+gem+1.jpg" height="280" width="400" /></a></div>
The gem, which measures 30mm long by 22mm wide, is carnelian agate, and has a scene of a winged man seated in a rocky setting, handing a bag to a cloaked man with a rounded cap. Behind this man is the prow of a ship with its swan head finial. Below the ground line is a long inscription in Greek letters. The surface of the gem is slightly worn and the carving is of very high quality, the composition has strong diagonals, and the size of the gem is large as engraved gems go. All these factors mark it as being from the Poniatowski collection, but I had no specific information as to the subject or which gem it was.<br />
<br />
After some study and the fortuitous visit of a friend, the subject was identified as being Ulysses, the original Greek name being Odysseus, receiving the winds from Aeolus, as told in the Odyssey by Homer. With the subject known, I was able to narrow down my search on the Beazley Archives website and found the gem, illustrated only with its impression from when it was in possession of John Tyrrell, Esq., in 1841, who had purchase it along with 1,200 other gems from the Poniatowski collection from Chrisities in London after the princes death. Tyrrell believed the gems to be ancient, even though by this time a number of scholars doubted them, and he had casts made of the gems, and published them along with catalogs of his collection and distributed them to scholars around the world. This catalog and the plaster impressions taken from the gems, have allowed for the re-discovery of many of the Poniatowski gems. This particular one is number T1017, the T being for Tyrrell.<br />
<br />
Like all the gems, or at least most, in the Poniatowski Collection this gem is very high quality, beautiful, and its subject very interesting. The Poniatowski Collection represents one of the greatest collections of gem engraving of its time ever assembled. This gem was designed by Calandrelli, the drawing is in the Antikensammlung Berlin, and now the gem is with me.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3f0rpo0lNntVjMTCa4XRDjfEhq0fZznTTXAIR9BHCUXpi_0vNoYjFMurO2eGdzU8ieyjDjid5DenXk6NIF3462kwDuEpfymwxNdjdfdk-nHlaWUDupBQmQrI9FI9MBfMMiayZaKJRsSs/s1600/Ulysses+and+Aeolus+gem+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3f0rpo0lNntVjMTCa4XRDjfEhq0fZznTTXAIR9BHCUXpi_0vNoYjFMurO2eGdzU8ieyjDjid5DenXk6NIF3462kwDuEpfymwxNdjdfdk-nHlaWUDupBQmQrI9FI9MBfMMiayZaKJRsSs/s1600/Ulysses+and+Aeolus+gem+2.jpg" height="301" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo of the impression from when it belonged to John Tyrrell. (image courtesy Beazley Archives)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span id="goog_318127444"></span><span id="goog_318127445"></span><br />Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-60074624567840591702013-11-23T13:19:00.001-08:002013-11-23T13:19:29.954-08:00A Crowned Bodhisattva Head and its type.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I recently acquired the exceptional Chinese Northern Qi head of a Crowned Bodhisattva, seen in the images below. It is large, just over life sized, intact as far as the head itself goes, with only a bit of the top of the crown missing and the side ribbons. In addition to being relatively intact the surfaces are very well preserved with extensive remains of the gold leaf preserved along with polychromy. The lips preserve their original carmine red, and bits of color remain on the crown. It is a magnificent head, really majestic. However the reason the head is compelling to me is that it is of a type known from other versions, which is a rarity in Chinese Buddhist sculptures of this time. While all are similar, no two are the same in their details, except for this particular type. </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdYJPppR0rzGABC2uUTsV4RH7e0E9Nx5rTDGWiy7vScBg5Ls9EJDBn3OaXfRp6h7ixs40UJj-0wVJ70mNJ8iQkbwKIN1uIfDjef_4mUBdPI1bx5YRxvEbT8qV3mkVX8t8WqGzOyXsMvmUp/s640/Crowned+Bodhisattva+(1).jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="412" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Head of a Bodhisattva, Limestone, Height: 15 inches</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br />Head of a Bodhisattva wearing a crown.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
China, Northern Qi Dynasty, 550 - 577 A.D.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyN7t0xxBRKtdSpkOmPRjvI4EiIqhd541WfdF5ElVw_1RJj6K6M-NP01lAEQ6DKm7Q8nqARzyprm61z0qpyoAu2P3KDkThbguePaolnRnf7KwF0UdXmB2C-FwF8Po-wwFqBFbB9nhrW9Vr/s1600/Crowned+Bodhisattva+7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyN7t0xxBRKtdSpkOmPRjvI4EiIqhd541WfdF5ElVw_1RJj6K6M-NP01lAEQ6DKm7Q8nqARzyprm61z0qpyoAu2P3KDkThbguePaolnRnf7KwF0UdXmB2C-FwF8Po-wwFqBFbB9nhrW9Vr/s640/Crowned+Bodhisattva+7.jpg" width="432" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side view of Head of a Bodhisattva, Limestone, Height: 15 inches.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In my studies of Chinese Buddhist sculpture, one is confronted repeatedly with this (see below) spectacular Bodhisattva wearing a crown, with a small Buddha centrally placed. This indicates it is Kuanyin, the Bodhisattva of compassion. Singularly superb in its carving, conception and execution, it stands apart from the group of extraordinary sculptures discovered in Qingzhou in 1996, and subsequently made famous by a traveling exhibition and catalogue, "The Return of the Buddha", in 2002. It was featured in one of the first publications of the find in 2001 on the cover of the magazine, <i>Arts of Asia</i>, Volume 31, number 1. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZle5W9GIbtBCnR9TfW84y46clRwm4FPdnY407v7y_ZK6h6hUx7TQ6ev4pZxV7afZJrjBfCaMAtEV_rMVcfurleI7xDeKiNmnllP03vukKnUcziPx-p1-oKVi_jsVYCYoWMFCMNU4Ci3j/s1600/Qingzhou+Bodhisattva+with+crown+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjORIStr9yJWdb3KuMYaZUl5dGy_3bqwh0DSFI5RVFDaMoAMmryw2LmJ05F2TStWIl-HhGkTyh0tY9l3-E1O7b3bO4PcNXoVpFLAYl6ugfK-n0_Fpl8ynB4e05nHbTXxrqzpvXV55PCQOfU/s1600/Qingzhou+Bodhisattva+with+crown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjORIStr9yJWdb3KuMYaZUl5dGy_3bqwh0DSFI5RVFDaMoAMmryw2LmJ05F2TStWIl-HhGkTyh0tY9l3-E1O7b3bO4PcNXoVpFLAYl6ugfK-n0_Fpl8ynB4e05nHbTXxrqzpvXV55PCQOfU/s640/Qingzhou+Bodhisattva+with+crown.jpg" width="452" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bodhisattva found in the Qingzhou horde, Limestone, Height: 136cm.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Standing Bodhisattva</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
China, Northern Qi Dynasty, 550 - 577 A.D.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZle5W9GIbtBCnR9TfW84y46clRwm4FPdnY407v7y_ZK6h6hUx7TQ6ev4pZxV7afZJrjBfCaMAtEV_rMVcfurleI7xDeKiNmnllP03vukKnUcziPx-p1-oKVi_jsVYCYoWMFCMNU4Ci3j/s1600/Qingzhou+Bodhisattva+with+crown+detail.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZle5W9GIbtBCnR9TfW84y46clRwm4FPdnY407v7y_ZK6h6hUx7TQ6ev4pZxV7afZJrjBfCaMAtEV_rMVcfurleI7xDeKiNmnllP03vukKnUcziPx-p1-oKVi_jsVYCYoWMFCMNU4Ci3j/s640/Qingzhou+Bodhisattva+with+crown+detail.jpg" width="507" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail showing the head of the Qingzhou Bodhisattva</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The beautiful Bodhisattva above (photos taken from the Asian Newspapers online article <a href="http://asianartnewspaper.com/article/lost-buddhas-chinese-buddhist-sculpture-qingzhou" target="_blank">http://asianartnewspaper.com/article/lost-buddhas-chinese-buddhist-sculpture-qingzhou</a>) is one of the most famous of the sculptures found in the horde. And justly so as you can see in the photos above. However, as remarkable as it is in itself, evidently either it, or a lost original, inspired copies to be made of it, something I have not seen before in Chinese Buddhist sculpture. The first time I encountered one, it was a smaller version, that duplicates the details of the jewelry, robes and crown exactly, but the face is quite different. (see below)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0MveB_sO4QZ856iBfbqLU-z3Djf4fycy0oDg7HS4glB4VnBqThp7QzvkM604Lm-lPjeZFEafSWutF6xn-5WjB7VbAWggPoqI_2VKCEYZ4zFpWobyYixakyKxSY9whu1vN_-SEBNMXWIbP/s1600/Crowned+Bodhisattva+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0MveB_sO4QZ856iBfbqLU-z3Djf4fycy0oDg7HS4glB4VnBqThp7QzvkM604Lm-lPjeZFEafSWutF6xn-5WjB7VbAWggPoqI_2VKCEYZ4zFpWobyYixakyKxSY9whu1vN_-SEBNMXWIbP/s640/Crowned+Bodhisattva+(2).jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bodhisattva, Limestone, Height: 25 inches.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Standing Bodhisattva</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
China, Northern Qi Dynasty 550 - 577 A.D.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF58_nDW5VcRvSdhcckip41vVp0VLXxjXb8ZnEefQVRkc9_TMpfwwWhGTEYz2vhfPSkhZaHm5oPht9LoL1lkFB7acp-fPalG1HMRohSnZwwlFDF-y3nUErPHGOrQB8My5Rjzl4wG81Meop/s1600/Crowned+Bodhisattva+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF58_nDW5VcRvSdhcckip41vVp0VLXxjXb8ZnEefQVRkc9_TMpfwwWhGTEYz2vhfPSkhZaHm5oPht9LoL1lkFB7acp-fPalG1HMRohSnZwwlFDF-y3nUErPHGOrQB8My5Rjzl4wG81Meop/s400/Crowned+Bodhisattva+2.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Head of the Bodhisattva above.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAD4brPHNtPrcOY1HFsjK1dytAca7voUvHUGXAiv47kY7eJ_-Y_qSTRPGrD_pnvn09nf4wfiXFGigWLqeArFWUk2TlyCZBYXRmZTaVXBbH0cLi9vuM0aTsbCrMfHBHnphIYnfUYG_z-bS/s1600/Crowned+Bodhisattva+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifAD4brPHNtPrcOY1HFsjK1dytAca7voUvHUGXAiv47kY7eJ_-Y_qSTRPGrD_pnvn09nf4wfiXFGigWLqeArFWUk2TlyCZBYXRmZTaVXBbH0cLi9vuM0aTsbCrMfHBHnphIYnfUYG_z-bS/s400/Crowned+Bodhisattva+5.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view of the head of the Bodhisattva</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As you can see above, the smaller version of the Bodhisattva type copies exactly, as far as I can tell, the jewelry, robes and crown of the Qingzhou sculpture. I bought the smaller one without realizing just how close it was to it, but recognizing that it belonged to that type of adorned Bodhisattva. I was startled when I was studying photos of the Qingzhou sculpture to see just how closely the one I had followed it. And yet the faces are quite different, indicating that they are not by the same sculptor, and perhaps even separated in time. The question is, was the Qingzhou Bodhisattva famous and admired in its own time, or was there yet another example that it is another copy of. That is something we may never know. <br />
<br />
The head I just acquired indicates that there was yet at least one more version, the one the head came from, which would have been just over life sized, and a very impressive sculpture. Interestingly, the crown, which is almost identical to the Qingzhou example, is not exactly so. On either side of the central seated small Buddha on the Qingzhou sculpture, is a stylized lotus leaf seen from the side, however in the newly acquired head, the Buddha is framed by a jewel, with a spray of pearls on either side, the rest of the crown almost exactly parallels the Qingzhou type. The face is much more related to the Qingzhou type, a bit bigger and less attenuated, unlike the small version where it is totally different. The lips in particular has almost the same cupid bow upper lip that the Qingzhou one does. In addition the expressions are very similar, very removed and distant in deep meditation. The smaller one just has a different feel to its face, even though it too is in deep meditation.<br />
<br />
The whole field of early Chinese Buddhist sculpture is still only beginning to be processed by scholars, since before the Qingzhou horde, very few examples survived, now many examples have come to light, reached the market, but are still relatively unknown to them. I wonder how many other "types" we will find, where there are multiple examples so similar to each other as the three above. <br />
<br />
A little bit about Bodhisattvas. The Buddha attained enlightenment and nirvana, leaving the earthly realm merging into the universal essence. In early Chinese Buddhist sculpture, the Buddha is distinguished by the lack or jewelry and adornment, in the simple robes of a monk. It is his pure presence that demands your attention, while Bodhisattvas are richly clothed and adorned often with heavy extravagant jewelry. The Qingzhou example is a particulary richly decorated one. A Bodhisattva is a being who has attained enlightenment, but has chosen not to go to Nirvana, but to stay behind to help other sentient beings achieve enlightenment. One story about Kuanyin is that on the brink of Nirvana, he heard the distressed voices of all creation, and in compassion, turned around to stay behind to help other beings on the road to spiritual perfection. Perhaps as recompense for not going to Nirvana, Bodhisattvas are depicted adorned in kingly jewelry and robes. The richness of their garb may also symbolize their spiritual wealth, which is limitless. Almost all Bodhisattvas are crowned, but the Qingzhou type has a distinctive crown, so I am referring to them as a crowned Bodhisattva. The central small seated Buddha in the crown is an attribute of Kuanyin, so it may well be the type is meant to depict him. In Indian sculpture, which was the source for Buddhism, Bodhisattvas are richly adorned, with jewelry. But the Chinese examples are often far more richly adorned then the Indian ones. The type above is one of the most beautiful in early Chinese Buddhist sculpture, I'm lucky to have found this beautiful head of one.<br />
<br />Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-8999930566643443732013-05-11T14:14:00.000-07:002013-05-11T14:14:34.611-07:00Another Poniatowski gem rediscoveredIt has been a while since I last posted to my blog. So here I will catch up with a few new posts, on more Poniatowski gems that I have purchased, starting with this beauty, which was lost, and now is found.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizp-uQbNwOT_ZS8wdP9PoIrTj9oo9atkw74ct8BTyL4SgVSKi3ZMey5djiWr5oGSzzBavTwdGYLqbwXBZHKTQ_u9ntj4jJozoNwkzruJciLWYfYIbfUfcj7SzVSxgIs0Fri4iKhRzOroEN/s1600/IMG_0148+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizp-uQbNwOT_ZS8wdP9PoIrTj9oo9atkw74ct8BTyL4SgVSKi3ZMey5djiWr5oGSzzBavTwdGYLqbwXBZHKTQ_u9ntj4jJozoNwkzruJciLWYfYIbfUfcj7SzVSxgIs0Fri4iKhRzOroEN/s400/IMG_0148+-+Version+2.jpg" width="340" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Engraved Carnelian in gold swivel setting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Above is the gem, and engraved carnelian agate, here shown with the light going through it, allowing one to see the masterful engraving, an three dimensional image done in reverse, intaglio. What we see is a young serious woman, hair drawn back into a simple bun, indication of robes at the bottom of her neck, and a large inscription along the left side, reading "POLLA ARGENTARIA".<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1J9xErsEjI7sXGrD-XdilXTNMuI-e5dkKpoHP4SU66QIDjtYrldrkH8KkNb2hi8d3WAW82qvOV_mjMGxaT_japTQnKtgmApV0CRgcLI8PiP3anxWzrdF66Zznkwtpsv2ORicK52gwdLx3/s1600/IMG_0149+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1J9xErsEjI7sXGrD-XdilXTNMuI-e5dkKpoHP4SU66QIDjtYrldrkH8KkNb2hi8d3WAW82qvOV_mjMGxaT_japTQnKtgmApV0CRgcLI8PiP3anxWzrdF66Zznkwtpsv2ORicK52gwdLx3/s400/IMG_0149+-+Version+2.jpg" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here you see the gem in its setting, in reflected light.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Above is the gem seen in its setting, with the light reflecting off the surface. What isn't evident from this image is that the surface shows some minor wear with some small scratches. This becomes important in its identification.<br />
<br />
The research of this gem took several stages. Its first rate quality indicated to me that I may well find it somewhere, and be able to identify its engraver even. First I went to Lippold's <u>Gemmen und Kameend des Altertums et der Neuzeit</u>, published in 1922. One reason it is such a great resource is to be found it its title, Gems and Cameos from Antiquity to the New Age, roughly translated, the literal German is more poetic, referring to antiquity as the High Period, i.e., superior, with which I would agree. Lippold illustrates hundreds of the more admired gems both from the ancient periods to modern gems, as collectors in the 19th Century collected and were interested in the best of both times. In Lippold I found the nearly identical female bust, which is signed by L. (Luigi) Pichler, one of the greatest gem engravers from the late 18th into the early 19th Century.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFV9X9_SQHLEGRclb5KrGuCCGtstL9FYLFYnR7Fx1ZTWpk4Vu-P5hHxgT-gt4I0jpmmyEpPS-mCXUpM2Tc4IO_TBpwqlPQp51ZBLzJg4hlf-K-S9epZzVXFnlacIQxVlzk6KVoCA_Veb-8/s1600/IMG_4427+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFV9X9_SQHLEGRclb5KrGuCCGtstL9FYLFYnR7Fx1ZTWpk4Vu-P5hHxgT-gt4I0jpmmyEpPS-mCXUpM2Tc4IO_TBpwqlPQp51ZBLzJg4hlf-K-S9epZzVXFnlacIQxVlzk6KVoCA_Veb-8/s400/IMG_4427+-+Version+2.jpg" width="362" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Lippold, the Pichler gem.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1093231296147358052" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>The images on these two gems are nearly identical, with minor differences in the drapery at the bottom of the neck and the profile, but seem to be by the same hand they are so close.<br />
<br />
The next phase of my research was to google the name engraved on the gem, Polla Argentaria, who turns out was the wife of Lucan, the well known poet who lived during the Julio Claudian period and had the patronage of Nero, and as typical in this period, lost favor, was discovered to have subsequently plotted against the emperor and was force to commit suicide, which he did by opening a vein and as he bled to death, he recited poetry. He was only 25, and had accomplished a lot in his short life. Nothing is known about Polla Argentaria but that she was his wife, then widow. No ancient depictions of her exist, or are known.<br />
<br />
Then of course my mind wandered to the Poniatowski gems, as there are many gems of famous Romans, which because there are no ancient representations of subjects, are identified, sometimes with cryptic initials, by rather large inscriptions. The inscriptions on the known and illustrated portrait gems in the Poniatowski collection matched the style of the inscription on mine. Looking up Polla Argentaria in the Beazley Archives Poniatowski gem section, I found that indeed, there was a gem depicting her in the collection, but it had no impression, no illustration of what it looked like. But, given the very quality of this gem, the slightly roughed up surface, matching the other gems in the collection, the style of the inscription and that it depicts an obscure but literary figure in Roman history, I thought, you know what, this may the be the lost gem cataloged. I sent images to Clauda Wagner, who is managing the Beazley Archives database and is perhaps the person who knows the most about the Poniatowski collection, and she confirmed that yes, it is the Poniatowski gem on the website, which until I made the connection, had been lost to scholarship. <br />
<br />
This gem is the 5th re-discovery I've made of gems listed as lost on the Beazley Archives, 2 from the Marlborough collection and now 3 Poniatowski gems. I intend to keep looking, and hopefully I will make more rescues of lost gems from these great collections.<br />
Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1093231296147358052.post-5513881034051987192012-11-23T14:55:00.002-08:002012-11-26T07:26:37.480-08:00Another rediscovered Paniatowski Gem<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_0W1Rbag2vw67ogVSsv0RPkmkIdKPJ-6nNAp6WXRms3NHV7hpA2OZEEQdo194BiGYNs1y4J4x9kwUoy-bHgiawau22CrN4IgUJzxd-XNS7l7tTqJDSe56iD8IEJusmKzZO5Xue5wennsU/s1600/DSC_1063+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_0W1Rbag2vw67ogVSsv0RPkmkIdKPJ-6nNAp6WXRms3NHV7hpA2OZEEQdo194BiGYNs1y4J4x9kwUoy-bHgiawau22CrN4IgUJzxd-XNS7l7tTqJDSe56iD8IEJusmKzZO5Xue5wennsU/s400/DSC_1063+-+Version+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amethyst Intaglio set in its Original gold and black enamel setting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Dear Reader, it has been awhile but my recent purchase of this magnificent intaglio has inspired me post. It is a large convex amethyst gem engraved with a scene of of Apollo and a youth, with a dying stag under a tree. It is an illustration of the Greco-Roman myth best told by Ovid in his wonderful "Metamorphosis", which I will relate below. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXLuSJxDJEO0IYi41X-Z0IFo4BeSUwhw3ruEqfI1iL42ggXCpoQOC2UmIO3zRgfpxxz9sCIOLACg04u3QyE0mSYpCk7-VnCu4eP99iSbRb6-IB5G4bWEZc9JP1WvReDM5BDAgTC-HU0ABa/s1600/DSC_1065+-+Version+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXLuSJxDJEO0IYi41X-Z0IFo4BeSUwhw3ruEqfI1iL42ggXCpoQOC2UmIO3zRgfpxxz9sCIOLACg04u3QyE0mSYpCk7-VnCu4eP99iSbRb6-IB5G4bWEZc9JP1WvReDM5BDAgTC-HU0ABa/s400/DSC_1065+-+Version+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gem seen with light shining through it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Above in the backlit image, you can see the carving clearly.<br />
<br />
The gem is from the notorious Poniatowski collection, this is Tyrrell 513, illustrated on the Beazley Archives by the plaster impression Tyrrell had made of it and all the Poniatowski gems he purchased. Here is the link:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/XDB/ASP/recordDetails.asp?id=A8609B33-4BA7-4A5D-B4AC-26118857ACC3" target="_blank">http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/XDB/ASP/recordDetails.asp?id=A8609B33-4BA7-4A5D-B4AC-26118857ACC3</a><br />
<br />
The Poniatowski gems have become of great interest to me; they are beautiful examples of the gem engravers art, their subjects are wonderful, and their history is so fascinating. It is rare that I get a chance to have objects that one knows for whom they were created, and their provenance so well. For example this gem was published by the Prince, <i>Catalogue des Pierres Gravees Antiques de S.A. le Prince Stanislas Poniatowski, </i>Florence 1830-1833, no IV 62. It was also published by its next owner, John Tyrrell, <i>Explanatory catalogue of the proof-impressions of the antique gems possessed by the late Prince Poniatowski and now in the possession of John Tyrrell Esq., </i>London 1841, no 513.<br />
The full provenance goes: The collection of Prince Poniatowski, offered at auction at Christie's London, April 20 - May 21, 1839, lot 2344, withdrawn from the sale, purchased by John Tyrrell (35 Craven Street - London). New York Art Market 2012 when it was purchased by me, its whereabouts between Tyrrell's ownership and mine is at this time, unknown. (Thanks go to Hadrien Rambach for providing me with the full provenance as it is known.)<br />
<br />
The subject of the gem is the story of Apollo and Cyparissus, is related by Ovid as part of his retelling of the myth of Orpheus, the lead in to the story is the scene where Orpheus rests on the top of a hill, which had no trees and no shade, and as he played on his lyre and sang the shady trees moved to the spot to shelter him from the sun. Ovid lists the different types of trees and their particular attributes and last came the Cypress, and then the telling of this story:<br />
<br />
<i>"With the rest of the throng came the cypress, shaped like the cones that mark the turning point on the race-course; though now a tree, it</i> <i>was once a boy, dearly loved by the god who strings both lyre and bow.</i><br />
<i> This is the story. There was once a magnificent stag, sacred to the nymphs who live in the fields of Carthaea, whose branching antlers cast deep shade over its head. These antlers gleamed with gold and a necklace of precious stones, encircling the animal's silky neck, hung down over its shoulders. On its forehead swayed a silver charm, kept in place by fine leather straps, which it had worn since it was born, and pearls glistened in either ear, close by its hollow temples. This stag was quite without fear and, its natural timidity forgotten, used to visit people's houses and hold out its neck, even to strangers, to be stroked. But the person who was most attached to it was Cyparissus, the handsomest of the Cean boys. He used to lead it to fresh grazing, or to the waters of some crystal spring, and wove wreaths of different kinds of flowers to hang upon its horns. Sometimes he sat on its back, like a horseman on his horse, and gleefully guided the animal's soft mouth this way and that, by means of scarlet reins.</i><br />
<i>One summer day, at noon, when the curving arms of the shore-loving Crab were being scorched by the heat of the sun, the stag was tired, and lay down to rest on the grassy ground, finding coolness in the shade of the trees. There Cyparissus unwittingly pierced it with his keen javelin. When he saw his friend cruelly wounded and dying, the boy resolved to die himself. Phoebus (Apollo) said all he could to comfort him, chiding him and telling him that his grief should be moderate, in proportion to its cause. Still the boy groaned and begged, as a last gift from the gods, that he should be allowed to go on mourning forever. Now, as his blood drained away, by reason of his endless weeping, his limbs began to change to a greenish hue, and the hair which lately curled over his snowy brow bristled and stiffened, pointing upwards in a greaceful crest towards the starry sky. Sadly the god Apollo sighed; "I shall mourn for you," he said, "while you yourself will mourn for others, and be the constant companion of those in distress."</i><br />
<br />
<i> </i>Beautifully told by Ovid, this story comes to life in this gem, and is a scene not depicted in any ancient work of art, which is typical of the Poniatowski gems. Most of the gems illustrate, in original ways that copy no other works of art, obscure stories from the myths, mostly from Ovid, which given the poetic way the story is related above is understandable, that have no parallels in ancient or even modern art of their time. As such the Poniatowski gems are surprisingly original for a body of "fakes". One wonders if the Prince had not created the ruse of passing them off as ancient, whether they might have had more influence on the art of their time, given their originality.<br />
The story of the Prince and his collection I have related before:<br />
<a href="http://tomswope.blogspot.com/2012/05/lost-poniatowski-gem.html">http://tomswope.blogspot.com/2012/05/lost-poniatowski-gem.html</a><br />
<br />
Just to summarize, Prince Paniatowski was of the Polish royal family and chose to live in Rome in the last part of the 18th into the early 19th Century, and had a large collection of what he said were ancient gems, and those few who were permitted to see it, declared it the greatest collection of gems anyone had seen. He published two catalogues of the gems, with elaborate descriptions, but no illustrations during his lifetime, which added to the fame of his collection. It was sold after his death in 1839 at Christie's in London, and by then, doubts about the antiquity of the gems began to surface, and the sale was not a success. But a John Tyrrell purchased 1600 of the gems, believing them to be ancient, and created plaster impressions of them which he distributed to document and promote them. This particular gem is one of them, and until this time, it has been on the Oxford University online Beazley archives, as whereabouts unknown, illustrated only by the plaster cast created by Tyrrell. Tyrrell believed in the gems antiquity until the end, summing up his thoughts thusly, that it was <i>"not probable that a nobleman of his (the prince's) high character and honor to have asserted that which he did not believe to be true."</i> We will never know what Prince Poniatowski really believed, whether he was taken by gem engravers selling him invented gems as ancient, or wheter he created the ruse, but I tend to believe that the Prince knew exactly what he was doing, and his reluctance to let many people see the collection would support that. In addition a group of sketches by the gem-engraver Giovanni Calandrelli in Berlin has come to light, illustrating the myths and scenes that were then engraved on the gems, and on the Oxford Beazley Archives, the relevant sketches are featured on the gems they were the template for. It is pretty remarkable to be able to follow a work of art from concept to execution, something we can for many of these gems.<br />
The gems art historical value are now being re-appraised, and thanks to Oxford attempting to put the collection back to again, we are getting a new look at them. This gem is an example of the best of them, they don't get better, and the material is beautiful, most of the gems are carved in carnelian, and only some in amethyst. Being in its original setting also ads to the historic value of this gem, I'm happy to have it.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Tom Swopehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08232964898502933427noreply@blogger.com0