Pre Columbian Art Primer for Appraisers
This was a lecture I gave in 2017 National Convention at the NY Athletic Club in NYC
I spoke about Pre-Columbian Art as an artform of communication. It is a functional art of indigenous peoples no longer extant.
History of collecting started around the time colonialism ended in Mexico during the Mexican war of Independence (1810-1821) and ancient artworks became icons for the emergence of a new nation.
In the 1930s Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, the famous Mexican painter began to collect, drawing attention to Pre Col. especially the pottery figures of west Mexico.
From 3500 years ago, people in modern-day Mexico, Central America and South America build cities, explored Science and created beautiful art.
They were a sophisticated civilization in that they had specialization of labor. Astronomers could measure the distance of the sun and stars and track the movement of the moon and Venus.
El Caracol, the Maya Observatory civilization site of Chichen Itza.
They had a hieroglyphic writing system and math.
Many of these foods these people ate have become staples of a world-wide diet eaten today including maize, beans, and squash, together with cacao (chocolate) and fermented beverages made from maguey.
Mesoamerican architecture was also unique and distinguished by preferences for stepped pyramids, stucco floors, and ballcourts.
The term "Mesoamerica" refers to a geographical area occupied by a variety of ancient cultures that shared religious beliefs, art, architecture, and technology that made them unique in the Americas for three thousand years – from about 1500 B.C. to A.D. 1519 – the time of European contact.
Archaeologists divide Mesoamerican civilizational development into three major time periods
Pre Classic Period
- Early Pre-Classic Period, Circa 1500 BC to 900 BC Olmec Xocipala
- Middle Pre Classic Period, Circa 900 BC to 500 BC Tlatilco, Michoacan
- Late Pre Classic Period, Circa 500 BC to 200 BC Mezcala (Guerrero)
- Terminal Pre Classic Period, Circa 200 BC to 200 AD West Coast shaft tomb peoples: Colima, Nayarit, Jalisco, Chupicuaro,
Classic Periods
- Early Classic Circa 200 BC to 400 AD Maya, Teotihuacan
- Middle Classic Circa 400 AD to 550 AD Vera Cruz, Zapotec
- Late Classic Circa 600 AD to 900 AD Maya
Post Classic Periods
- Early Post Classic Period, Circa 900 to 1200 AD Totlecs, Mixtecs
- Late Post Classic Period, Circa 1200 to 1521 AD Huastecs, Aztecs
South America
Peru/Boliva/Chile has the driest costal desert on the planet and thus these most complex textiles survived. It is a diverse landscape with mountains, deserts and coasts.
By the time of the Inkas there was a 10,000 mile roadway in place maintained by the state and professional runners could cover it in a matter of days
1200 BC – 400 BC Chavín civilization in the highlands of Peru.
400 BC – 700 AD Moche, Paracas and Nazca cultures flourished along the central coastline of Peru
In the middle Horizon, the Tiahuanaco and Wari empires of central and northern Peru expanded their influence to all of the Andean region.
In the Late Horizon, circa 1400 Ad, Machu Picchu, Lost City of the Incas was built on a mountain as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti.
In the Late Horizon the empire of the Incas covered Peru, Bolivia, northern Argentina, Chile, and Ecuador. It began as a tribe in the Cuzco, Peru area, and from there the Inca state grew to absorb other Andean communities.
1498 Christopher Columbus explored the northern coastline of South America, and word of his discovery eventually spread to Europe. Spanish Conquistadores led by Francisco Pizarro arrived in the 1500's
Other cultures not covered
Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile more or less have parallel time lines for these cultures and gold from this area is sometimes referred to as international style as the iconography is so similar we cannot say for sure the country of origin.
Cultures include: Darien, Varaguas, Cocle, Chiriqui, Chorrera, Manabi, Jamacoaque, Manteno, Tumaca/la Tolita, Calima, Tairona, Muisca, Quimbaya, Sinu,
Interesting fact about Ecuador is that the earliest representations of the figural form come from the Valdivia Horizon circa 200BC which is earlier then the Chavin and Olmec and they produced a little female figure we refer to as the Valdivia Venus.
Mythology Religion
A divinatory calendar of 20 x 13 days calculated together with a solar calendar of 365 days, is widely regarded as being more accurate than those of many other ancient civilizations throughout the world
Like any religion, there are elements of moral teachings as the ritual relationship between mankind and his environment tries to be addressed. Themes include agriculture, the production of Maize, a focus on the origin of the heavenly bodies (Sun and Moon, but also Venus, the stars); the mountain landscape; weather: clouds, rain, thunder and lightning; Animals; wild and tame.
The Olmec set a system in place in art with iconographic elements that told the population who was divine, human, or in between. The system they established held in place more or less until the Spaniards invaded
Mesoamerican people including the Mayas recognized maize, their staple crop, asa vital life force. This is a common theme which occurs in their art.
The Popol Vuh,is an important book written down from oral testimony in the 16th Century. It tells the creation myth of the Maya cosmos; and addresses morality and justice and here we meet two important protagonists Hunahpu and Xbalanque- or the 'Hero Twins' - who grew up to avenge their father, finally defeating the lords of the Underworld in the ballgame as illustrated here on this Vase at the Chrysler Museum. Norfolk. Mus no. 86.405. They are often depicted on Maya ceramics, in profile with their strong Roman noses.
Iconographic Elements for this vase are: Ball or ballgame, Inscription - other text, Twins – Hunahpú & Xbalanqué, Yokes, ballgame gear, Primary Standard Sequence, Battle Standard
Another god commonly depicted is
Tlaloc – The Rain God, a patron for agriculture and In the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, his name means "He Who Makes Things Sprout." A Zapotec incensario illustrated he wears a buccal mask, a mask covering the buccal area and mouth and nose and a serpent headdress.
I want to share a fantastic image with you. This is the sarcophagus lid of king Pakal from - Palenque, done in the year 692 A.D. It is one of the most talked about subjects when it comes to the ancient alien theory. This is a rubbing of his carved sarcophagus; which can be interpreted as a depiction of the ruler’s transition to divinity or a space alien riding a crazy contraption?
Regeneration is an important religious theme as it is grave goods that collectors own and what is now in the marketplace. Death was not a final void for these peoples, just another form of being so ordinary to extraordinary objects were buried as tomb offerings.
Wari Princess mummy bundle for example: Dying at 60 years old, this Huari Wari elite woman took her wealth with her. She was found in seated position with finely woven mantels, shawls, adorned with Jewelry and wrapped in layers until she was what we call a mummy bundle. Vessels with food stuff was also left for her.
Materials and Function
As I said earlier, the art all had a function, from the monumental architecture, to the finely crafted ceramics, precious metal works and complex textiles that would assert their authority and echo their religious beliefs.
Range of materials
Stone : basalt, jade, granite, precious and semi-precious stones, inlays
Ceramic: mostly low fired, burnished, slip painted, negative resist decorated, post fire pigments, crushed and naturally occurring minerals, i.e. cinnabar, iron oxides
Metals: gold, tumbaga, silver, bronze alloys, copper
Textiles: camelid, alpaca fibers, cotton
Wood and plant fibers, bitumen
Animal sources: skin, bone, feathers
Stone – VERY PROBLEMATIC – as to date, the dating of stone through scientific analysis is problematic because we can test the geological age of the stone but not date the objects manufacture.
Here we rely on iconographic and style analysis as a means to determine authenticity.
Construction was a slow and methodical grinding and polishing of stone on stone.
They also cut with strings made from vegetal fibers and hollow reeds charged with abrasives such as sand or garnet. Rudimentary lathes were also likely used as well as obsidian (for fine line incising) Polishing surfaces were done with fire hardened wood.
Jadeite – Pyroxene family of minerals- sodium-aluminum silicate. Harder then the nephrite jades from Asia which are calcium magnesium rich amphibole minerals.
Authenticating means surface analysis - absence of modern tool marks, traces of wear and weathering and erosions. We need to see a somewhat irregular surface sheen in the end. Something that a machine polisher would not do.
Ceramics – age indicators wear patterns, burial incrustations and root marks, manganese staining –
No wheel, all coil and hand built and mold made.
Slip painted, burnishing, wax resist (waxy material applied to the unpainted areas which “resist” the slips that are also applied causing the variation in design))
Wood which survives in South America is for loom parts, litters, markers, masks, staffs, and Bone, Shell for pins and adornments and tools. Weavers implement baskets show excellent process
Metal, gold, silver, tumbaga (alloys or gold and copper and silver)
Using alloys with gold made materials stronger and easier to cast.
Depletion gilding was a process which drew the gold to the surface by depleting it of copper and silver.
Authentication depends on understanding the materials and techniques used by specific cultures in specific regions
Techniques were hammering, casting, crimping
Casting was done in stone and clay molds and lost wax casing
Backs of cast figures were left unfinished and have a rough pitted surface
Soldering (which melted at lower temperatures then the metals they were adhering).
Wire working came from cutting sheets so the wire may appear rectangular. Pulled or drawn wire, where the wire Is pulled through smaller circular openings displays straight parallel lines along its length and this was not done in PC cultures so it indicated modern manufacture.
Look out for electroforming, a 19th century technique of plating metal to a conductive mold where the surface is very thin and the edges are bubbled up.
Textiles are super Intricate. Even today wavers in the Andes can not reproduce the stitching, embroidering done by the ancient weavers.
Some are done with no weft, and with complex iconographical elements. Paracas, Nasca, Huari most valuable.
Wool of the llama and soft wool of the alpaca, both of which came from domesticated animals, the finest wool of the vicuñ were wild animals.
Techniques include appliqués and Tassels, Slit & Interlocking Tapestry Weave, Open Work Weaving or gauze, patchwork.
Tupus – accounting system comprised of braided rope in knots which fan out from a central point at various lengths, each a symbolic number for amounts or time.
Shirts, loincloths, headdresses, belts, tump lines, mantles, coca pouches, bags and masks.
Usage -
Religion – Censors, plaques, statues, ceremonial garb, blood letting knives tumis
Food consumption – Bowls, cups, cylinders, plates
To convey status – Maces, staff, knives, adornments & jewelry like earspools, beads, labrets & headdresses
Textiles – to wear and the weaving implements for production
Ritual ballgame – in Mesoamerica Yoke, hacha, palma
Music – flutes, whistles, panpiles, rattles, drums, rasps, shell trumpets
Warfare – Inscriptions, chert blades
Drug Paraphernalia for Halogenics, grinders, snuff trays coca pouches
Burial – Masks, mantles, objects of daily use
Authentication
A
a. bone
b. shell
c Ceramic
d. Metal
e. Textiles
f. Wood
Authentication
i. Spray bottle for clay. (Bring clay and spray bottle).
ii. Lab grade hydrogen peroxide (20%) to activate dendrites (microscopic mineral deposits).
The reaction creates bubbling and/or fluorescence.
iii. Magnification, which could include binocular microscopes or electron microscopes. With fakes, there is no oxidation, no forensic evidence of burial, and no mineralization or crystals or erosion.
iv. Thermoluminescence test for ceramics. Everything gives off atoms in decay. When a ceramic is fired, the chemical process alters the decay clock and resets it. If an object is subjected to atomic radiation from the atmosphere, it absorbs a certain degree of radiation over time. The amount of radiation that the object has absorbed can thus identify its age. The TL process can determine when a ceramic item was last fired.
TL dating is based on the fact that some clay minerals absorb energy or radiation at predictable rates. When clay is fired, the absorbed energy is dissipated, and the clay minerals begin to reabsorb energy. This energy can be measured from a small ceramic sample, and the age when the ceramic was last fired can be calculated.
v. Carbon-dating (c-14 dating) can be used for wood, bone, or anything organic and is based on levels of the unstable carbon 14 isotope.
Radiocarbon dating identifies when the organic material stopped growing. It can tell when the tree was cut down, not when the artifact was made.
vi. CT scan or computer tomography employs x-ray technology to provide detailed three dimensional x ray images from which construction and hidden repairs and restorations can be seen.
vii. Ultraviolet light – this spectrum of light used to be good to detect restorations but restorers today have restoration materials that do not fluoresce and
restorations can still hide as they attempt to make a broken piece appear intact.
viii. X radiography which is a high energy imaging technique that is used to identify the structure beneath the surface by revealing differences in densities of materials. 
BE careful to employ this test with caution because the energy from x rays can skew subsequent tl testing dates.
ix. XRF (X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy) is a non-destructive analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of metal alloy components.
XRF analyzers determine the chemistry of a sample by measuring the fluorescent (or secondary) X-ray emitted from a sample when it is excited by a primary X-ray source. With gold: if zinc is detected then the alloy is modern.
b. Train Your Eye
i. I recommend buying old catalogs, and looking through hundreds of images, which will train your eye to truly understand the genre you are looking at, making it easier to identify fakes, low quality pieces, and excellent pieces.
ii. Restoration. With ceramics, it’s the spray bottle, with stone, it’s ultraviolet light. If a large, obvious section of a piece has been restored, for example, the head, then the piece will be worth much less, whereas if only a very small portion is restored (e.g a very small section of the back or underside), then the value is higher.
c. Horrible
i. May be fake. Very convincing reproductions that were done in the 1940’s even fool experts today unless examined in person
ii. These are pieces that did not do well with exposure to time, and would be worn and abraded.
iii. Lowest quality craftsmanship, which is also the most common, and also includes fragments and shards. These have very little value.
iv. No provenance.
d. Good
i. Genuine artifacts or art. Mostly intact, may be repaired, some restoration.
e. Better
f. Best
i. Excellent condition
ii. Beauty
iii. Size
iv. Craftsmanship
v. Rarity of form
vi. Provenance
vii. Age (?)
viii. Very Minimal/no restoration
Resources Available
i. Artkhade European auction database (for valuations)
ii. Live Auctioneers(for valuations)
iii. Invaluable(for valuations)
iv. Sotheby’s sold lot archive(for valuations)
v. Published literature (sign up for our email list to get our bibliography).
vi. Google images
vii. Foundation For The Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. http://www.famsi.org/links.htm (art historical)
viii. Wikipedia
ix. https://decipherment.wordpress.com/ Devoted to Maya hieroglyphics and iconography
Legal issues
In 1911 Hiram Bing, from Yale discovered Macha Picchu and excavated with legal permission until about 1925. Although he had the correct permission from the govt, many years later the fact that Peruvian mummies were in America struck a nerve in the court of public opinion. Macha Picchu is symbolic for the identity of Peru. No one argued that he did not have legal permission, it was patrimony in an age of heightened sensitivity to such issue.
Lack of provenance can kill values
Anything with export permission from country of origin is legal to own in this country.
Modern provenance is believable and we can still buy and sell property in this country but antiquities can carry a bit of a stigma
Unesco was founded in Nov 1970 to preserve cultural heritage but not all countries originally signed on. The Museum assoc of America advises members to use this date as a ceiling for acquisitions.
MOU Memorandums of Understanding is the legal framework where our Political system agrees to help that of another nation with regard to when is the cut off date to have a clear title, which should be provable with documented evidence.
Belize- Feb 27th 2013
Colombia - March 17, 2006
El Salvador- September 11, 1987, for pre-Hispanic material from Cara Sucia; or March 10, 1995, for pre-Hispanic materials from all other areas
Guatemala -April 15, 1991, for archaeological material from Petén; October 3, 1997, for archaeological material from throughout Guatemala; and September 29, 2012 for Conquest and Colonial Period ecclesiastical ethnological material
Honduras - March 16, 2004
Peru – May 7th 1990 For the art from Sipan; June 11 1997 for general Peruvian artifacts through Colonial periods
Mexico – No MOU exists but a U.S. court has already held that a 1972 Mexican law was a valid ownership law for the purpose of the. Simply speaking, items that left Mexico before 1972 should be able to be brought into the U.S. lawfully.
Nicaragua - October 26, 2000
Now having all these dates is fine but Pre Columbian peoples traded goods and services and paid tributes so who has claim to a jade from Guatemala found in Nicaragua?