The Energy of Pre-Columbian Art
By Fayez Barakat
MGM GRAND THE COLLECTOR AUTUMN 1992
When I opened a gallery devoted to ancient
art in the heart of the most modern city in the world, I knew I was facing
a challenge. Los Angeles is the metropolis of the future and the Barakat
Gallery focuses on the treasures of the past. In the Holy Land, where
my family has done business for generations, artifacts have a context
that people understand they seem a logical part of the landscape,
footnotes to the history of the place. In Los Angeles, I was warned, the
precious relics of the past would lose their meaning amidst all the neon
and asphalt. What I understood when I came here, and what the continued
success of the Barakat Gallery has proven, is that fine antiquities radiate
a tangible aura of experience something I call Energy
that makes them beautiful and meaningful in any setting. Energy
is the intrinsic magnetism that accumulates around an object through the
ages. It has to do with where the object has been, who made it, who used
it, who touched it or admired it as we can still do today. A certain sensitivity
is needed to perceive Energy, but if an individual possesses the gift,
then an artifact becomes a link, a pathway directly back to an earlier
time, to other lives, maybe not completely known or understood, but definitely
real. I had always been attracted to Biblical and Classical antiquities
for this reason, but nothing in my previous experience prepared me for
the surprising, exotic, intimate, and sometimes barbaric world that Pre-Columbian
art reveals.
It was inevitable for me to fall under the powerful spell
of Meso-American antiquities. West Coast collectors assembling important
holdings of Pre-Columbian art for decades, and there was great potential
to build a truly remarkable collection from what was still in private
hands. But when I first came to Beverly Hills, the art of the New World
was exactly that for me new. Pre-Columbian was terra incognita,
an unexplored part of the fascinating realm of the past. I felt like a
conquistador standing on the edge of an unknown continent awestruck,
excited, and determined to discover its farthest boundaries. As I was
exposed more and more to Pre-Columbian pieces of high quality, my enthusiasm
began to increase without limits. I responded to the incredible Energy
of the art, to its vitality, its mystery, to its strength, even to its
humor.
Assembling a major representative group of Pre-Columbian
art works became first a passion with me, then an obsession. The result
of ten years of scholarship, acquisition and appreciation has resulted
in an extreme sensitivity to Pre-Columbian art, not only from an aesthetic
point of view, but also in terms of an artworks authenticity. After
years of experiencing literally thousands of Pre-Columbian artifacts,
one gradually acquires not only scientific knowledge but also a kind of
sixth sense about an object. It is this unique combination that allows
an artifact to speak to a person. I would like to share a few of the insights
that I have acquired over the years, points that may help you as a potential
collector of Pre-Columbian art as you begin examining these ancient artifacts
to discern their authenticity and relative value.
When Pre-Columbian ceramics have been in the ground
for centuries, the organic material and chemicals I the earth surrounding
the object react with it, creating varying degrees of patination on the
surface of the artifact. The pottery unearthed in Meso-America, in general,
interacts with manganese dioxide in the soil and the result is a distinctive
finish on the artifact. Therefore, not only are remnants of the soil on
a ceramic piece a clue to its authenticity, but also the surface finish.
Pre-Columbian jade and stonework also have specific characteristics
that distinguish them as genuine. One of these is the absence of tool
marks on the surface of the artifact. Generally a small, carved jade or
stone object was a valuable possession in Pre-Columbian times, not only
used repeatedly in ritual but also passed down from generation to generation.
This constant handling of the object results in a smooth, fine finish,
the tool marks of the carver long worn away from the artifacts polished
surface. Larger stone sculptures may also be void of tool marks, the result
again of centuries of weathering. When examining large stone artworks,
pay close attention to the finish on the engraved surface as well as other
areas of the sculpture, for the patination should be the same, evidence
of that the stone was carved in antiquity.
When we experience ancient Pre-Columbian goldwork, it
is important to remember that the majority of artifacts were created by
the lost wax method. This technique results in gold artworks that are
extremely smooth on the surface. Contrasted with this are modern gold
artworks that, under magnification, reveal markings from abrasives and
files used in creating the piece. Ancient Pre-Columbian goldwork also
has a purity, depending on the country of origin, that distinguishes it
from modern works of art.
Along with the use of our scrutinizing observations and
acquired sensitivities to authenticate Pre-Columbian artifacts, there
are also scientific methods for estimating the date of an object. Laboratories
are able to perform carbon 14 dating methods on artifacts that contain
organic matter, while ceramics may be subject to thermoluminescence testing
to estimate a date.
One final note. As you begin to examine each work of
Pre-Columbian art, pay close attention to its Energy, for the legacy held
within every genuine Pre-Columbian work of art will slowly begin to reveal
itself. It will speak to you through all of your senses. I know, for they
have spoken to me.
FAYEZ BARAKAT
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