Antiquities and Ancient Art

Assyrian Reliefs on Display at Hood Museum thru March 11, 2007

This year marks the passage of a century and a half since the arrival at the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College of one of its most prized possessions in the realm of art and culture: the Assyrian reliefs, currently on display in the Kim Gallery of the Hood. Originally part of the decorative scheme of the so-called Northwest Palace of King Ashurnasirpal II (883-859 BCE) in Nimrud, Iraq, these six large-scale reliefs depict a ritual performance undertaken by the king among both human and supernatural beings.

A special installation about the reliefs and other ancient Near Eastern works from the collection is on view in the Hood and will include special interactive three-dimensional computer reconstructions by Learning Sites, Inc., presenting the reliefs in their original contexts. But hurry, the exhibition ends March 11.

What a difference a 150 years makes!  Back in 1856, these six extraordinary bas-reliefs recovered from Nimrud underwent a camel caravan to Beirut and then ship to America, eventually making their way after five years into the collection at Dartmouth University. It was the foresight and generosity of collector Sir Henry Rawlison that preserved these masterpieces of Assyrian sculpture which otherwise might have been forever lost.  The importance to world culture of collectors and benefactors like Rawlison can not be understated, and stand in sharp contrast to the media vilification of today's modern collectors.

Ancient Gold Afghan Artifacts Missing for 20+ Years Now Part of French Exhibit

For two decades, archaeologists and scholars were baffled by the disappearance of 22,000 pieces of ancient gold that disappeared from an Afghan burial mound in the 1980's. Was it spirited away by the Soviet military during its invasion or destroyed in the Taliban's purge of more than 70% of the country's artistic heritage?

Turns out a mysterious group of Afghani citizens kept this invaluable ancient Bactrian gold hoard as well as other irreplacable treasures patiently secured away in secret vaults in the presidential palace at great personal risk. Now, some of these treasures are part of a special exhibition at the Guimet Museum in France.

The exhibition entitled Rediscovered Treasures, Collections from the national museum of Kabul will put findings from four major archaeological sites - Fulol, Aï-Khanoum, Tillia-Tepe and Begram - on display to the public. Behind the unique and exciting story of these rediscovered treasures, the exhibition pays tribute to the history of Afghanistan, which lay at the centre of kingdoms and empires extending all the way from Central Asia to northern India.

Thanks to the outstanding display of 220 items, the exhibition gives a perspective on the development of Afghan history, from the Bronze Age to the Kushan empire. Even though the objects displayed have different geographical and historic origins, they also celebrate the continuity, the uniqueness and the wealth of the Afghan heritage, in a region that has been influenced by so many cultures: Iranian and Near Eastern, Indian, Scythian, Chinese and Hellenistic.

The golden vases from Fulol hark back to the Bactrian civilisation (2200-1800 BC) and to the vital role played by that region in the exchanges between the Middle East and the Indus civilisation. Another site of world renown, the Aï-Khanoum site (end of the 4th century to the mid 2nd century BC), was discovered and then excavated by the French Archaeological Delegation in Afghanistan (DAFA), between 1964 and 1978. It demonstrates just how far Hellenism penetrated into Central Asia, and the lasting influence of this culture in the region. The gold ingots remind us just how wealthy were the Greek adventurers, while the Cybele plate illustrates the symbiotic relationship with more oriental traditions.

The necropolis of Tillia-Tepe, the “golden hill” (1st Century BC), at the northern border was the last major discovery made before Afghanistan was plunged into chaos. Six intact princely tombs, containing some very beautiful funerary decorations, were excavated by a team of Afghano-Soviet archaeologists, supervised by Victor Sariandi. Pendants, a belt, Chinese mirrors, Indian ivory and even Greco-Roman intaglio all serve to underline Afghanistan’s strategic position on the Steppe Route.

The Begram treasure marks a development, by showing how the centre of power shifted southwards. The objects found by DAFA in 1937 and 1939 therefore bear witness to the power and wealth of a court which was believed to be Kushan when it was discovered (1st to 3rd Centuries); a court under the influence of the Indian, Chinese and Greek worlds. The exhibition brings together certain objects most representative of the Kabul collections, such as Indian ivories, Hellenistic bronzes, even a batch of glassware which appears to the oldest example of Greco-Roman glasses.

The exhibition is accompanied by the restoration of a great many works with the aim of reintegrating hem into the Kabul museum collections. The presentation reveals a very particular facet of Afghanistan, given the current political climate. Through this restoration, and by giving due acknowledgement to the marvellous Afghan heritage, as well as the cultural influences which fed into it, this unique exhibition reminds us of the fragility of these treasures, and the necessity of protecting them. Indeed, these sites are loci memoriae for the Afghan people, in a country which is slowly and gradually trying to reconstruct itself.

The exhibition runs through April 30, 2007. For more information visit http://www.guimet.fr/

Saving Antiquities and Cultural Patrimony: Double Standards When There Are No Americans to Blame?

Antiquities, cultures, protection of patrimony, and the value of the past are some of the topics covered in a thought-provoking editorial written by Dennis Sevakis last week in The American Thinker.

Sevakis argues that the media demonized the US military for not doing enough to protect the Iraqi Museum from looting, even though what looting occurred was not as substantial as the initial press reports and that the looting was largely done by Iraqi citizens themselves.  He contrasts this to the collections of the British Museum and the Louvre which in no small part were fed by war spoils of the past empires of Britain and France. 

He contrasts the outcry over the Iraqi Museum controversy with the silence that largely surrounds the daily destruction of ancient European sites in the name of modern progress. "A hazard that is characteristic of our modern world is the destruction of our own historical heritage. Destruction, that is, of the bits that get in our way, ancient or recent, buried or otherwise. Artifacts that happen to be inconveniently placed and which frustrate government initiatives," he writes.

Sevakis cites a variety of examples ... the destruction of an important Augustan-era site in Spain to make way for a municipal car park, and the loss of an important Roman road in Paris among others.

"Where’s the outrage?" he comments.  "Where are the talking heads decrying this abomination? The video depicting the destruction of ancient treasures? The pillaging of history? Where are the Americans? Nowhere to be found? Whoops! Can’t blame them. And there seems little likelihood that the Spaniards, like the Iraqis before them and the French after, will blame themselves."

Sevakis posits the destruction of western heritage to be the beginning of a long-term trend that is exacerbated by the statistical Muslim-ization of Europe, particularly to the extent it is fueled by Wahhabi-inspired which call for the aggressive destruction of "offensive" cultural and religious artifacts outside Islam.

Click for the full article. 

Museums' Iranian Antiquities Under Attack from Americans Claiming Restitution for Mideast Bombing

Who owns ancient objects in museums? If you take at face value the headlines made by the Italian government in its highly publicized (and politicized) case against the Getty Museum -- they do.  That is, at least when it comes to Italian, I mean Greek, antiquities. (Yes, most of the objects that Italians are suing the Getty over were made in antiquity not by Italians, but by Greeks and imported into Italy. The irony of modern-day Italians suing to reclaim patrimony that is not even original to their country is a topic for another day.)

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that cultural objects in museums belong to the country from which they originated, as the Italian government would like us to believe. If so, could citizens who have been wronged by that government lay claim to these objects as restitution?

That is the interesting legal question being tested now as five Americans from Detroit are attempting against the government of Iran.  The five, all hurt in a 1977 Hamas terrorist bombing at a Jerusalem shopping plaza, are claiming that the bombing had Iranian sponsorship and as a result they are justified in reclaiming Iranian assets as restitution for their injuries.

Remarkably, the Iranian assets they are targeting are important antiquities currently in the collections of Harvard University, the University of Michigan’s Museum of Art and Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, the University of Chicago, and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.  According to court papers, among the objects sought are coins, pottery, sculptures and other ancient Iranian items.

The case, which appears to be a long shot for the plaintiffs, raises yet another potentially dangerous challenge for today’s museums.

MFA Boston Officially Breaks Ground on Expansion while Enjoying Banner Year of Acquisitions

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, home to one of the country's finest collection of antiquities is expanding in more ways than one. Less than two weeks ago, the museum officially broke ground on a new $305-million expansion that will increase space by 27% when completed in 2010. So far the museum has raised $302-million toward its goal of $500-million to finance the project, in what has been called Boston's largest cultural fund-raising campaign ever.

Even as the museum begins the expansion, its art collection also continues to grow. It is reported that the MFA has accepted 1,842 new works of art in the past year. Included in these acquisitions, according to The Art Newspaper, is a superb Hittite silver drinking vessel dating to 1380 BC in the shape of a fist, and a gilded silver Byzantine pyxis from 6th-7th Century AD Syria.

Sheikh Saud Al-Thani, Renowned for his Aggressive Art and Antiquities Purchases, Reportedly Under House Arrest in Qatar

For those following the antiquities market closely, the name Sheikh Saud Al-Thani of Qatar has become synonomous with "paying whatever it takes" to acquire any object that caught his eye. The second cousin of the ruling Emir of Qatar, one of the richest of all arab oil-producing countries, Al-Thani has been a force in the art market for the past several years as he went about his task of ambitiously buying inventory for a five new museums being contructed in Doha. He reportedly had a budget of $2-billion to acquire art.

He bought in many areas of art, but seemed to have a fondness for antiquities, especially Egyptian objects -- much to the dismay of dealers and collectors who tried to compete against him.  In June, 2002, he bought The Jenkins Venus, a Roman marble statue from Newby Hall near Ripon, North Yorkshire, for £7,926,650 - the highest price paid at auction for any antiquity. A few months later, he was rumoured to be the man behind Paddle #64 who bought all but five of the first 141 lots of Egyptian antiquities at a London auction. His presence was felt at auctions and art events in New York, London, and throughout Europe.  Now he reportedly sits under house arrest, for allegedly misuing public funds.

The Art Newspaper was among the first outlets to break the news which is sending waves through the art world.  Click for The Art Newspaper story and The New York Times (registration may be required) article.

Discovery Channel Reports Discovery in Cyprus of Oldest Known Perfumery

What may be the world's oldest known perfumery, set atop a Cyprus hillside with sweeping views of the Mediterranean, has just been excavated by a team of archaeologists from the Italian Institute of Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage, according to The Discovery Channel citing recent news reports.

Remains at the Pyrgos-Mavroraki site near Nicosia include clay perfume bottle fragments that contain 14 perfumes of varied fragrances and ten odor essences. Archaeologists also found an olive oil press next to the perfume factory.

Maria Rosario Belgiorno, director of the excavation, said she believed the perfumery was 4,000 years old and represented the oldest known perfumery.  Click here for the full story on the Discovery Channel.