End of the World?

MEXICO CITY (AP).- Mexico's archaeology institute downplays theories that the ancient Mayas predicted some sort of apocalypse would occur in 2012, but on Thursday it acknowledged that a second reference to the date exists on a carved fragment found at a southern Mexico ruin site. Most experts had cited only one surviving reference to the date in Mayan glyphs, a stone tablet from the Tortuguero site in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco.
But the National Institute of Anthropology and History said in a statement that there is in fact another apparent reference to the date at the nearby Comalcalco ruin. The inscription is on the carved or molded face of a brick. Comalcalco is unusual among Mayan temples in that it was constructed of bricks. Arturo Mendez, a spokesman for the institute, said the fragment of inscription had been discovered years ago and has been subject to thorough study. It is not on display and is being kept in storage at the institute.
The "Comalcalco Brick," as the second fragment is known, has been discussed by experts in some online forums. Many still doubt that it is a definite reference to Dec. 21, 2012 or Dec. 23, 2012, the dates cited by proponents of the theory as the possible end of the world. "Some have proposed it as another reference to 2012, but I remain rather unconvinced," David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin, said in a message to The Associated Press. Stuart said the date inscribed on the brick "'is a Calendar Round,' a combination of a day and month position that will repeat every 52 years."
The brick date does coincide with the end of the 13th Baktun; Baktuns were roughly 394-year periods and 13 was a significant, sacred number for the Mayas. The Mayan Long Count calendar begins in 3114 B.C., and the 13th Baktun ends around Dec. 21, 2012. But the date on the brick could also correspond to similar dates in the past, Stuart said. "There's no reason it couldn't be also a date in ancient times, describing some important historical event in the Classic period. In fact, the third glyph on the brick seems to read as the verb huli, "he/she/it arrives." "There's no future tense marking (unlike the Tortuguero phrase), which in my mind points more to the Comalcalco date being more historical that prophetic," Stuart wrote. Both inscriptions — the Tortuguero tablet and the Comalcalco brick — were probably carved about 1,300 years ago and both are cryptic in some ways. The Tortuguero inscription describes something that is supposed to occur in 2012 involving Bolon Yokte, a mysterious Mayan god associated with both war and creation.
However, erosion and a crack in the stone make the end of the passage almost illegible, though some read the last eroded glyphs as perhaps saying, "He will descend from the sky." The Comalcalco brick is also odd in that the molded or inscribed faces of the bricks were probably laid facing inward or covered with stucco, suggesting they were not meant to be seen. The Institute of Anthropology and History has long said rumors of a world-ending or world-changing event in late December 2012 are a Westernized misinterpretation of Mayan calendars. The institute repeated Thursday that "western messianic thought has twisted the cosmovision of ancient civilizations like the Maya." The institute's experts say the Mayas saw time as a series of cycles that began and ended with regularity, but with nothing apocalyptic at the end of a given cycle. Given the strength of Internet rumors about impending disaster in 2012, the institute is organizing a special round table of 60 Mayan experts next week at the archaeological site of Palenque, in southern Mexico, to "dispel some of the doubts about the end of one era and the beginning of another, in the Mayan Long Count calendar."  http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=52021

Zoot Suit Anyone?

I really enjoyed this story and my good friend "Lee" Dunbar's part in making a little history. This is repinted from August-Auction.com

"Our November 2 fashion sale in New York City was filled with surprises but none quieted the crowd in attendance as much as the bidding for one of our featured lots, the World War II era zoot suit discovered at an estate sale in New Jersey.

     The bidding moved rapidly back and forth between bidders on the floor and those on multiple phone lines before settling in on two serious phone bidders. And the bids kept on coming.

     Auctioneer Leila Dunbar kept the crowd entranced as the rare striped wool zoot suit rose from its $500 opening bid to settle at $65,000 ($78,000 including the buyer's premium).

      The spectacular sale price sets a new world auction record for a 20th Century gentleman's garment and was also an Augusta Auctions sale record. We are pleased to share with you that this rare suit was purchased for a major American museum costume collection and it will be displayed to the public.

     During a brief time in history, 1938-1942, zoot suits were worn by hep cats of the early jazz age. The extreme design appealed to urban minorities, primarily Hispanics and African Americans. As America entered the war, restrictions on excess use of fabric were instituted and those who wore zoot suits were seen as unpatriotic.

     What made this object so desirable went far beyond it's rarity as a garment fad. We had never seen one outside of movies and newsreel clips and know of only one other in an American Museum collection - at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

      This zoot suit was made of two contrasting striped woolens, one a red & grey stripe on cream and the other a blue stripe on oatmeal. The trousers boast an extremely high waistline, a 17" zippered fly, and balloon legs tightly pegged at the cuffs. The knee length jacket has exaggerated padded shoulders, wide notched revers fashioned from the two different striped fabrics, and floppy oversized external pockets.

     A similar, though not as dramatic, example was featured in a 1942 Dorothy Dandridge and Paul White film clip that extolled the virtues of the zoot suit style in a musical soundie, the precusor to music videos."

Contemporary Artists Sue Christies

Editor's note: This is an interesting suit enabled by a rather narrow California law. A broader issue that to my knowledge has not been tested is reimbursement to artists whose work is featured in auction catalogs creating both sales of catalogs and excitement in the property. In many cases publication rights may have not been transferred with the sale of the work. It seems to me that this has been a class action waiting to happen for years. I would expect potential liability would cause Christies to go to the mats to defend this one.

Los Angeles - Wall Street Journal - A group of major artists, including painter Chuck Close, and the heirs of abstract expressionist Sam Francis and sculptor Robert Graham, filed a pair of lawsuits against Sotheby's and Christie's seeking royalties on auction sales of their work in California.
The artists allege that the world's two biggest auction houses are failing to abide by a little-known California law that promises royalties to artists whenever their works are resold within the state or auctioned off elsewhere on behalf of owners who live in California. A Sotheby's spokeswoman said the "claim is meritless, and it will be vigorously defended."

A spokeswoman for Christie's, part of Christie's International PLC, said the law itself appears flawed and the auction house "looks forward to addressing these issues in court."
Calls to Mr. Close and the Sam Francis Foundation weren't returned. Royalties are commonplace in the realms of music and film, but the California Resale Royalty Act of 1976 is the only law of its kind in the U.S. It insists that visual artists living in California receive a 5% share of any subsequent sales of their artworks worth over $1,000 during their lifetimes or within two decades of their deaths.
The law also requires California-based art sellers to pay the same fee whenever they resell the affected work from their collection.
The pair of lawsuits filed by Mr. Close and others contends that Sotheby's and Christie's, who act as agents for their sellers, have repeatedly refused to pay royalties to California-based artists following auction sales of their work. The suits also claim the houses aren't telling their California clients upfront that they will need to set aside a portion of their sale proceeds to pay artists covered by the royalty law.
The law applies to original paintings, drawings, sculptures or original works of art in glass. Royalties for artists whose whereabouts can't be immediately determined are meant to be funneled to the California Arts Council. The lawsuits allege that the auction houses also are concealing the location of some of their California-based sellers by refusing to flag their works in auction catalogs. By contrast, artworks that fall under similar European royalty laws are routinely flagged in auction catalogs.
The suits seek compensatory damage for the artists as well as an overhaul of the way the houses alert artists and the public about the works that are covered by the California law.
At least 50 countries around the world maintain similar royalty rights for visual artists, including Britain and France. In Europe, the laws are typically referred to as droit de suite, a French phrase for artist's rights.
The suits come at a time when artists' rights groups like the Artists' Rights Society are lobbying Congress for legislation to make droit de suite a federal law.
Eric George, a lawyer with Browne George Ross in Los Angeles, is seeking class-action status for the two suits, which he filed on behalf of the artists on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
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Kim's Tips of the Trade

A Primer for Looking at African Art, Part II:  The Yoruba Ere Ibeji Figures

For those of you who are new to the field of tribal art collecting, you might wonder about these small standing wooden figures with the typically large bulging eyes and the oversized frequently conical-shaped heads, the ere ibeji (“Ibi” = born, eji= two, ere = sacred image) twin figures.  Sometimes you see them as a pair (male/female, male/male, female/female), sometimes you see them as a single figure, but typically they are around 6 to 12 inches tall, with prominent sexual features. Sometimes they wear clothing, even share clothing. Sometimes their headdress will have blue indigo paint still in it; sometimes they will be variously adorned with colorful beads. And the biggest feature you will notice are their worn surfaces:  sloping, soft foreheads, chins, eyes, nose, mouth, features that look as if they were carved out of butter.  Sometimes these soft facial features have melted to the point of extinction.  Why would these figures have such worn visages?  Are the wear patterns something desirable or are they candid displays of items only found in poor condition?   As with most African art, understanding these figures’  function and purpose within society is key.

The Yoruba tribal societies in Nigeria and Benin are known to have one of the highest birth rates of twins in the world, as well as unfortunately a high infant mortality rate. To both represent the deceased as well as house the split spirit of the child that has been lost, if a twin has died, a family will commission a carved likeness which although meant to be the child, will have the distinguishing features of an adult.  This figure plays a significant role for the tribe, the family, and especially for the mother.  This figure is the connection to the spiritual world.  For the rest of her life, the mother of the deceased child will carry this figure around in her garments-- care for it, feed and clothe it,  anoint it with oil, caress it and lay it down to sleep each night.

As one might imagine, over time, this touching of the wood creates wear patterns that are noticed primarily on the face, but also on the head, the shoulders, the chest, the arms, the breasts, the buttocks. These wear patterns that we look at with a questioning gaze, that might appear “ugly” to the uninformed collector, these are lasting testaments of a mother’s love of her child and evidence of a tribal custom created to honor the gift of twins to the Yoruba family.  To the knowledgeable collector, the wear patterns form a great component of appeal.

The Yoruba twin figures provide a great example  of the importance of knowing and understanding  how tribal art objects are traditionally used in order to clarify whether or not something is ceremonial or decorative.   When you know to look for a twin figure’s wear patterns, as well as know WHERE to look on the figure for these patterns, you are one step closer to understanding authentic African art objects.

NOTE: This article is merely an overview of these figures and the story they tell. For more information on Yoruba ere ibeji figures, you might consult the following books:

Chemeche, George  “Ibeji The Cult of Yoruba Twins” 2003.

Stoll, Mereidi and Gert “Twin Figures of the Yoruba”, 1980

My Word, October 2011

In the July/August issue of Archaeology Magazine, Roger Atwood revisits Nigeria and the Nok civilization. It is interesting that Atwood pretty much ignores the major 1995 Nok finds in which Nigerians played a major part in getting these antiquities into the commercial markets. After the initial discovery, European and American. African art markets were flooded with terracottas. Collectors, dealers and curators were aggressively pursuing these sculptures. But what did we all really know about either Nok material culture or the stylistic parameters of known authentic objects? It became obvious; we didn’t know much.

After buying a major Inland Niger Delta piece in 1989 from an old collection here in the U.S., I began appraising African terracottas a decade later. My work in this area was actually limited to one collector who certainly had one of the largest, if not the largest collection, of ancient African terracottas in the U.S. From the beginning, I would not touch any of these terracottas without the onsite, thorough inspection of a conservator. The collector gave me anything that I thought was necessary to complete the appraisal assignment. The conservator used a black light and a probe, which at the time seemed adequate to determine the condition of the sculptures.

The first few years of the next decade caused me to question whether we were doing enough. I explained to the collector that confirming the good condition of an object was adding value to his art. I felt that the value would be increased because I was certain we were doing more to authenticate these objects than most other appraisers. By 2004, I began to understand that the authentication of African terracottas was far more complex than any of us had previously thought. This enlightened moment came as the result of an investigation of a major Nok figure I had acquired and was offering to a museum for a significant amount of money. My colleagues and I exhausted all methodology known to me to confirm the authenticity and condition of this object.

I hired a well-known Nigerian expert who made a total of 72 phone calls to Nigeria to confirm that this piece could be legally acquired. The sculpture passed all the tests, but I still had that nagging feeling that something was not right. I turned to Mark Rasmussen in Stillwater, MN and showed him the x-rays, the thermoluminescent testing, the black light examinations and the research data. Rasmussen followed the methodology that he outlined in “Setting the Standard for Due Diligence: Scientific Techniques in the Authentication Process” (www.rare-collections.com) . Rasmussen arranged for a thorough cat scan, which confirmed that the figure was a pastiche comprised of multiple fragments of unrelated figures and restorative material. The good news was that I didn't make a fool of myself in front of a major museum. The bad news was that this was little consolation for our efforts that yielded nothing for our time but experience for the future.

From 2006 on, to ensure we had a thorough understanding of the clay body we were sampling, I did not appraise any African terracotta figures without a cat scan first. We learned a great deal. Ironically, now I look at African terracottas with the same cynicism previously reserved for Pre-Columbian objects. Several years ago when I traveled around the U.S. introducing Mark Rasmussen to some of my friends in the museum world, there was a general acceptance of technology and Marks' expertise by recognizing the importance of testing objects potential future acquisitions. There was, however, little enthusiasm for testing objects currently on view. I get this and recognize that the politics of the moment dictates what will or will not be done. Translated, this means kick the problem down the road until the current decision makers are dealing with problems at some other institution.

Peter Breunig of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe Museum in Frankfurt is back in Nigeria working on the Nok sites with his colleague Nicole Rupp. Their mission is to expand the knowledge base of Iron Age societies in Africa. Whether this work and the work of other archaeologists create more market interest is for the moment speculation. Overly restored objects, disreputable sellers, and efforts to halt the importation to Europe and the U.S. of terracotta from Mali and Nigeria have now seriously damaged the African terracotta market in the U.S. The only exception to this might be the modest market created for the large contemporary pots, primarily originating in West and North Africa. I see no connection between these very different markets.

Atwood's article certainly got me thinking again about Nok and terracotta in general. The Met's new exhibition, “Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures,” has opened to rave reviews. Included in this exhibition is the Minneapolis Institute of Arts well known Ife head. While I have no pretensions that I am an expert on Ife terracottas, I have always been interested in this object as a stylistically atypical example of the corpus. I have never seen any data one way or another, but expect that a highly regarded, experienced African curator like Jan-Lodewijk Grootaers, Ph.D. and the MIA Director Kaywin Feldman, past President of the Association of Art Museum Directors, have done their homework on this sculpture. No doubt they have cat scans and expert opinions that would satisfy any concerns from their museum patrons or the exhibition organizers at the Metropolitan Museum in New York..

Frank Willett, who died several years ago, was the foremost expert in the area and compiled a CD entitled “The Art of Ife”, which catalogs this particular Ife head as T731. Willettdexter side....The neck shows slight grooves where the coils have been smoothed. Cracks can be seen that have been well repaired to hide them on the outside. The front of the neck is a separate sherd extended artificially on the sinister side to join it to another sherd. The back of the head has been broken into several sherds, including the dexter side of the head over the ear. There appear to be about eleven re-attached sherds. In view of the otherwise excellent state of preservation of the head, it seems likely that it was shattered in finding. The top of the back of the head is missing as are the lower parts of the back and both sides of the neck. Samples have been removed from the edge of the neck medially and in the edge of the hair at the broken edge at the top of the head, also medially. These produced a TL date of BP 520±20%, i.e. c. AD 1370 to 1580.”

It seems that Willett is suggesting the face displays an atypical lack of symmetry. Putting my Pre-Columbian hat on makes me wonder whether the artist lost it in this area or that maybe the face had been restored. Willett has stated that the back and sides of the head and the front of neck were broken. I guess it is possible that the face is as pristine on the inside as it is on the outside, but logically it seems unlikely. I certainly don't know; however, when an object is offered in such an important public forum it seems like a fair question to ask. If I were asked to appraise this object I would immediately get a cat scan of the face and then take multiple samples around the face for TL testing. That’s a fantasy though, and this will be one more rhetorical question concerning objects that have been blessed.