From Passion to Possessiveness

Collectors and Collecting in a Symbolic Perspective

Bjarne Rogan

l{ogan, Bj arne1996: From Passion to Post;essiveness. Collectors and Collecting in a Symbolic Pert;peciive. - Ethnologia Europaea 26: 65-79.

Collcciing is n pastime thnt haR become immensely popular, especially during tlw lnst two or three decades. li is et;timated that one in three per�ons in the adult. population in western industrialized countries is or has been a collector. As a pastime collecting easily turns into an engrossing passion or even addiction, with immoderation and sometimes transgression of moral and legal rules in its wake. ln popular opinion collecting, even in it� moderate and normal lorms, is surpris­ ingly often referred to in terms of passion and love and compared to eroticit;m. So is also the case in fiction , where the collector character abounds. The aim of the article is to discuss the systematic character ofrhetorical figuresin this discourse on collecting. 'J'hesc ligures, most often comparisons and metaphors, arc invcsti­ ga ted as a symbolic way of understanding the ambiguous phenomena of collecting and possessiveness. As the usc of concepts like symbol and symbolism arc rat her unclear in the ethnological tradition, the author argues for a pragmatic use ofsome structuralist ideas to grasp their systematic character. This article concentrates upon symbolic perspectives on collecting, whereas the author's research proj ect on collecting comprises topics like gender, consumption, socialization, etc., as well aR the history of collecting.

Bjarne Rogan, Prof"essor of" Ethnology, University of" Oslo, lnstitutt lo r lw ltur­ studiei; Box 1010Blindem, N-03150slo, Norway. E-mail: bjarne.rogan@iks. uio.no.

logists. Second, there is a systematic use of Introductory remarks "symbols" in my material that invites for fur­ The fo llowing discussion springs from two dif­ ther reflexion. fe rent but linked problems. The first is how to The material stems partly fr om my own cope with the phenomenon of passion in cultur­ indepth interviews with circa 50 collectors, with al analysis. The second is the concepts of symbol collections ranging fr om bric-a-brac and "in­ and symbolism and their use in ethnology. Re­ stant collectibles" to books, coins and fine art, search on private collectors and collecting has and partly fr om biographical sources, written confronted me with an amazingly rich forest of statements in collectors' magazines, etc., and ­ "symbols" (in a wide sense of the term, includ­ not least - fiction. ing comparisons, metaphors, metonomies, par­ The first andlonge st section ofthe article is allelisms ...) that compare collecting to passion, a presentation and discussion of some empiri­ love and eroticism. These rhetorical figures, cal findsfr om my study of collecting, the second used in common parlance as well as in literary discusses symbols and symbolism, and the final texts, might conveniently be termed symbols tries to build a bridge between the two. Before and the use of them symbolism, and then fu r­ embarking on this journey, the reader deserves ther discussion could be dropped. However, this a quick glimpse ofthe passionate collectors that would be unsatisfactory for two reasons. First, constitute the empirical basis for the later dis­ there is a bewildering diversity and lack of cussions. The first quotation is fr om fiction - precision in the use of these terms by ethno- where an American collector of Indian wicker

65 basket:; is chuttin� to a ca::;uul listcner- and the for advertisements. Last year F ren c h TV second from an i n terv iew w ith a Da n i sh collec­ screened u pu bl icity sketch fo r a lottery ; a tor of folk uri: collector scraped a ticket, lound that he had won Ff 5.000 - and glued it on u wall th a t was "Listen, pa l , he says w ith n w i n k, you stand already crammed with other tickets, with the B rigi tte Bardoi next to a museum qu u lity Tlin­ comment: "Dammit, another copy of the same git I basket! and 1 wou ldn't sec her. r got a re a l ticket!" The sketch works because people know n ice Tlingit, by the way, got it at auction fo r that collectors' madness surpasses most other eigh tee n bucks. A stcul. U:s worth much more. eccen tricities . Pretty scarce" (Connell 1974:38). If this is a common image of the collector, then why not leave the topic to psychologists "From ti me to time f h uvc f()U nd something th at and psychiatrists, who - by the way - also take 1 had to have, but thut 1 couldn't af"ford. 1 have a professional interest in symbols and symbol­ waited as much us twenty years to have the ism? The answer is that collecting is normal chance to acquire certain objects. Then J have behaviour, actually so normal that nearly one been awake all n igh t, sitting and just looking at third of the adult population in countries like it. It's just like being recently engaged to be the US, the UK and France takes part in it, or married. There is a need for that experience - has done so during periods of their adult lives something that may make people believe that (Attali 1989, Belk 1995, Pearce 1995). Also, you are erotically taken in by the object loqject­ some 90% of all schoolchildren collect. This erotomani. That's what l am, actually! I may presupposes a broad definitionof collecting, but become quite excited; many times your emo­ there is no reason to doubt that the percentage tional life towards such an object is more in­ of persons practising some sort of collecting is tense than towards another person. It's not approximately the same in most western coun­ exactly the same fe eling as falling in love, but tries. And among one third of the population the intensity is the same 1 ... 1 "(Jacobsen, in Ohrt there will always be a good number of border­ og Seisbfllll 1992:73, trans!. BR) line cases, which does not exclude the cultural analyst fr om the field. (For a thorough discus­ In addition to the discourse on collecting and sion of collecting fr om a psychological point of eroticism, to be investigated here, there is a view, see Muensterberger 1994.) related discourse on collecting and madness, The reader should be warned that the fo llow­ covering the whole fieldfr om fr enzy to lunacy. ing discussion will draw the portrait of a collect­ Collectors tend to joke and flirt withtheir incli­ ing male. This does not mean that only men nations and talk humorously about their "dis­ collect. Women probably practise collecting to ease" or "insanity". A quick look in dictionaries the same extent that men do. Still, the idea that reveals that collectors are commonly consid­ collecting is a masculine activity prevails, among eredpassionate, obsessive, filledwith immoder­ collectors as well as in society in general. This ate desire, or - on the other side ofthe Channel idea is especially persistent in the popular dis­ - passionne, fe rvent, obsede, fo rcene, fe roce, course on collecting and eroticism. (For a dis­ maniaque, in their passion insatiable for ob­ cussion of gender and collecting, see Belk 1995, jects - and they may suffer fr om une collection­ Pearce 1995, Rogan 1996.) nite aigue. Even if this discourse may blend with the erotic one, it will seldom qualify as Passion and eroticism in collecting "symbolic", as it is widely known that quite a few collectors only too easily transgress moral A note on collectors and collecting in fi ction and legal boundaries and upset family economy In his anthology Breasts (1993 and earlier ed.) and personal relations in their hunt for desired Ramon Gomez de la Serna presents an artful, objects. The image of the slightly mad collector subtle and condensed sketch named The Collec­ lies at the bottom of the recurrent use of them tor. In spite of its brevity, it communicates many in media, in entertainment programs as well as themes for an analysis of collecting; a creative

66 gaze and a sense of aestheticism, Lhe play aspect IDEA l. GIFT FOR THE MAN and the thrill of the find, a good portion of passion and a Li ngo of madness, an erotic loading WHO HAS HAD EVERYTHING f and a cert ain possessiveness, a ma le and mascu­ line activity with a stamp of absu rd i ty, irration­ Capture ality and futi lity - and the perish ability of the collection. Here i n a slighily abridged version : the big excitement "There is a l ady aski ng f(H' you , Sir", ::;ays the fe male servant to the collector of breasts 1 ... 1 of the "Let her in", says the collector, while adapt­ world's ing his positi on in Lhe office chair in order to fi nd greatest a suitable a ngle and distance fur the examina­ tion, as if adjusting his opera glasses. hunt with The woman had delicate fe atures and slen­ your own der arms. l�verything about h er was graceful, but her breasts were so opulent that they seemed to greet the collector even before she had the alia Americana time to reach out her hand w ith well -groomed nails. "What can I do for you?", he asks. "Well, to be honest ... Yo u are a collector of breasts, aren't you? Well, here are mine ..." The collector regretted not having his collec­ tor's glasses at hand to put them immediately on his nose, but compensated by leaning back­ New trophy room conversation wards in the chair 1 . .. I piece to illustrate the high points The woman who offered her breasts unbut­ of your best adventure story. Genuine, full size, life-like Kulp­ toned her dress, like a wet nurse demonstrating ture is warmly ti nted in nature's the quality of her milk to the doctor. own colors. Mounted on 12x10"' The collector, who was used to demonstra­ walnut plaque with its own tions like this, touched the breasts that were de�c:riptive nameplate . A •must" offered him, carefully like a jeweller, while Satisfaction guoranteefl smiling entranced. or money IJori "Exceptional breasts for my collection! You Onty 5&.815 paatpald, caeh bring me magnificent breasts. Unforgettable! or money order to : , � Yo u see ... It is important for me to have the �- DIEPT. G possibility of looking at them when I want to, IIIKII(0. • P. 0. lu 215 • St lllis, 11:. when I call them to my mind ... I cannot encase Ocks/i en trofC them in an album. On the other hand, I can call for you when I need these two beautiful items of An American trophy collector. From an American my collection ..." magazine, reproduced in Samlarnytt no 3-4/1959. "You won't deceive me?", she said with co­ quetry. "No ... They are the best of my collection .... I shall give them ten marks on a certificate that "I shall be careful with them, if not for any you can show everywhere ... Take care ofthem, other reason than to offe r them to you again ... take good care of them. The most beautiful Nobody treats them so gently and with so much breasts in my collection have disappeared or tenderness as you do ... I am very satisfied ... deteriorated from one day to the next." Yo ur certificatewill always fillme with pride ..."

67 1 ... 1 Th e collector wrote in a ledger: "!Name, Serna presented a collector of female breasts; ad r. l ... Buxom and d el i cate at the snme time ... Fow les' collector changes from butterflies to a No d rooping : The on ly brcusts to my knowl edge woman, and Sontag's includes a beauti fu l wom­ that, even if copiOLIS, don't h ave any trace of an in his collection of art and anti qu ities . The w ri n kl es or shadows, nor yet the s lightest shud ­ coro llary of strong passions is chaos and ow of u begi n n i ng ruin and d rooping 1 ... 1 They destruction, and collecting offers no exception. are so serene and so beauti ful that one docs not Fowles' collector ends up by killing his "item", fee l the need to touch the m " (de Ia Serna whereas Canetti's burns his collection. Sontag's 1 99:3:28-:JO. Tra ns!. BR). novel i�>const ructed around the volcano meta­ phor, with all the excesses, outbreaks and dis­ Authors of fict ion arc fr ee to conjecture and asters that this implies. interpret phenomena and invent realities that "Passion and eroticism" turn out to be a the researche r m ay perce i ve but h a rd ly can central theme in these literary interpretations document in a traditional way. The researcher of collectors, as well as in other material. This may usc fiction al:i a gateway to the popular overall theme may conveniently be presented interpretation and comprehension of phenom­ in "phases": 1) Passion and desire, 2) Hunt and ena. H may l:iervcas hilleyeopencr to a l:iymbolic conquest, 3) Eroticism and power, and 4) Loss of world that is perhaps clol:ied to those who usc control and transgression. In the fo llowing para­ on ly traditional tools and �>ource�>. I l:ihall rely graphs these subthemes will be seen as symbol­ heavily on fiction to be able to discuss symbolic ic representations, and not as sexual or other aspects of collecting, aspects that arc visible in compensation. Admittedly, the latter interpre­ my ordinary sources but most often more elu­ tation would not contradict popular belief, but sive and less direct th an in the case of th e it may easily revert into pseudo-psychoanalysis Danish collector quoted above. (and is no longer in accordance with modern Before the 19th century collectors appear psychoanalytic understanding of collecting; cf. only l:iporadically in fiction. But with the rise of Formanek 1994) modern consumerism, industrialization and the For my literary examples I shall concentrate spread of tastes and activities fo rmerly reserv­ upon two novels, Balzac's Le cousin Pons ( 184 7) ed for the upper classes, collecting spreads to and Sontag's The Vo lcano Lover ( 1992). There is broader strata and increasingly finds its way a century and a half between them, and their into fiction. The most celebrated "collector nov­ authors' positions are as differentas can be; on els" of the 19th century are Le cousin Pons the one hand a French male realist - called the (1847) by Honore de Balzac and Bouuard et fo unding father ofliterary realism - looking at Pecuchet by Gustave Flaubert (1880/81), but his own time; on the other hand a fe male Amer­ the phenomenon of collecting is encountered in ican fe minist and psychoanalytically oriented prose and poetry on both sides of the Atlantic. postmodernist looking back at history. But they Around the turn ofthe century, a series of great are both "symbolists" in their interpretations of American collectors - often called "robber bar­ the collector. A few words will be appropriate to ons" because they vacuumed Europe for art and situate their novels. antiquities - are portrayed in the novels of In his fictional world - his La Comedie Hu­ Theodore Dreiser, Henry James and Frank maine consisted of some one hundred novels - Norris. In afterwar years, American novelists Balzac sets up what he called a sociological, like Evan S. Connell, Bruce Chatwin and Susan anthropological and psychological inventory of Sontag have depicted and analysed collectors, virtues, vices and passions ofhis day, in order to and so have also English John Fowles, French give an exhaustive description of contemporary Georges Perec and German N obel prize winner customs and usages. For a materialist (he ex­ Elias Canetti. The list is far from exhaustive. cels in the description of objects) and a lover of The collectors described are almost exclu­ modern society like Balzac, the collector was an sively men. Collecting appears as a male and ideal protagonist in a world ofthings. For him, even virile activity. The quotation fr om de la collecting was both a means to realize aesthetic

68 values a nd an arena fiu· greed and ev il. 1 n short, ifyou didn't fa ll in love from lime lo lime, ifyou the collect or was the idea l tool "to ch a rt virtue::; never made any mi::;takc::; l ... l l fyo u keep going and vi ce::;" and "lo collect the most i mporta nt all life with a safety net, you will mi::;s thc th rill. data about pwssion", as hi::;pr ogramorl itcrary 1 . .. 1 Love wa::; ::;o great that 1 didn't heed my realism ran. intuition" (M, b. 1948). For Susan Sontag a l so, the collector is a medium fo r s aying something about man a nd Collectors' declarations orlovc arc ::;o n umcrou::; society. Her protagonist moves from a purely that we hard ly need support from fiction on this aesthetic collccling proj ect lo a stale of egoism, point. However, pa::;sion and desire being the selfishncs::;and i n::;c n::;ibility to the suffering of ubiquitous emotions of our two novels, greeting others, hi::;::; lrongc::;t pa::;::;ionbe i n g the mnotion­ the reader from nearly every page, a passage al attachment lo things. Pcr::;on::; (who, as a from each would be appropriate: consequence, arc never named) and things be­ come indi::;lingui::;hablc and perish. The quest "Paris is the city ofth e world that conceals most for the bcautifi.1l may end in hell, especially fo r eccentrics li .e. collectors I , people with a religion collectors, who in the last rc::;ort collect them­ in their heart. The eccentrics of London always selves. Passion, possessiveness, betrayal, obliv­ end up by getting tired oftheir love affairs, just ion and destruction are her themes. as they get tired ofliving. In Paris, however, the Two authors, two diHcrcnt literary tradi­ monomaniacs cohabit happily with their fan ta­ tions, and two different attitudes. For progres­ sies. Yo u see them all the time, people like Pons sive and materialistic Balzac, collecting serves and Elic Magus. They arc dressed like paupers

as a neutral activity to depict both positive and [ •..J They don't seem to care about anything, not negative aspects of ::;ocicty. For poslmodcrn about women, not about the warehouses. They Sontag, describing collectors is a means to un­ seem to stroll at random, evidently without a veil inhumanity, crumbling and decay, and a penny and apparently absentminded and stu­ lack of coherence and continuity. Still, their pid 1 ... 1 But these men, they are millionaires, metaphors and images are sometimes surpris­ collectors, the most passionate people in this ingly similar - especially when it comes to world" (Balzac 1847/1956:135, trans!. BR). collecting, passion and eroticism. "As a child he collected coins, then automata, Love, passion and desire then musical instruments. Collecting express­ "I fe ll smack in love with an old bread tray es a fr ee-floating desire that attaches and re­ fo rmed like a pig", recounted a female collector attaches itself- it is a succession of desires. The of antiquities (F, b. 1942). Not only fe male true collector is in the grip not of what is collectors use such terms. Norwcgian men, who collected but of collecting. [ ...] With the Cava­ do not too often use terms like love, covet, long liere any passion sought the fo rm of, was justi­ fo r, desire, infatuated with when the object is fied bybecoming, a collection" (Sontag 1992:24, another person, surprisingly often fall back on 27). these terms when talking about their collections. "Love makes blind", as the saying goes, and this In Sontag's The Vo lcano Lover, fire-spittingVe ­ is no less true for passionate collectors: suvius serves both as the ominous background and as a potent metaphor for the uncontrollable "Ifyou are just passionate, you do one blunder collector's mania. The use of the volcano meta­ after the other. If you are driven by love only phor for a collector's passion is not new. In my [and lack knowledge) , you get so infatuated interviews several respondents have used corre­ that you do what I did, when I made a fo ol of sponding "eruptive" images. Best, however, is a myself by buying that tobacco box [a "Norwe­ French collector of sad-irons and fo under and gian antiquity" that turned out to be a recent chairman of an international collectors' club, Le Russian box) . Nothing but love for the design! I club des amis des fe rs a repasser anciens. He lost my head completely. [ ...) On the other hand, tells that he became a passionate collector at

69 the age o f!)8, when his wife offe red him an old thirst wi th pints ofbccr.l.. . l Today you'l l have to iron. At the age of 74 this pas�:�ion W:ti:l st ill "a pay th ree or four times as much for it." volcuno which never stopped erupting since that time" (Bayart 1982). Indeed an appropri­ 'l'he::;enu rrutive::;::;hi lt between the humourous ate metaphor, ten year::; bef(,rc the publicati on und the serious, even the solemn. Some may of Sontug 's novel. i mp ly a breach of rules, legal or moral, others may even have unintended religious overtones Hu nt n.ndr· onquesl - like the collector who threw away his crutches "E n vy the adventu res we huvc while on The duri ng the hunt: Hunt. 1 . .. 1 But mo::;tly envy u::;lo r The Thrill of The Find" exclaims an American "puck rat" or "My chum Peter is at least as crazy Ia collector] collector of bric-a-brac and curiosities (quoted a::; l am. l ... l Firstti mewe metwas in a container after Bel k 199!):72).An c::;sen tial con::;tituent or I where both ofthem were hunting for objects] . collecting is the hunt, und mo::;t items in most One afternoon we had a car trip - Peter, me and collections carry their proper history - of how my dear Liza - who is just as mad as me. I suffer they were conq uered and incorporated in the from sciatica, and that day I needed crutches collection. When interviewing collectors much because my left leg wouldn't come along. Before ofthe conver::;ation, sometime::;the bulk of it, is the trip Liza had whispered to Peter, without about the acqu i ::; iti on of the variou::; items: the me hearing it: "Just wait until he sees a contain­ unexpected find, the good buy, the shrewd bar­ er. That'll heal him." When we came down the gaini n g, the clever bidding at the auction, the Wcrgclandsvcien we spotted two containers, poking around at the ilea market, the thrill of side by side on the sidewalk. I stopped short, got knowing more th an th e dealer, etc. out of the car and ran for the containers - The collector's narrative is a predictable one: without my crutches!" (M, b. 1947). how and where they found the various items, how much they paid for them, and their real Several respondents tell how they look out value and scarcity - in short: the treasure hunt. dealers who are not specialists in their own The following two cases, told by a knife collector collecting fields, how they circle around in the (M, b. 1943), arc typical, though the style a bit shops, pretending to ignore or not take any more juicy than the average: genuine interest in those objects that immedi­ ately catch their attention - things that "speak "This knife Ia precious 19th century item, han­ loud to me" (M, b. 1948). No respondent, howev­ dle carved in walrus tooth, engraved silver er, has described this play better than our two ornaments, signed by the artisan] - I came novelists. Balzac's narrative of how Pons con­ across it in Drammen. It was a steal! [ ...]I got it quered Madame de Pompadour's fan shows fr om a second hand dealer who didn't know how the author - himself an ardent collector of what he was selling. He had to have a thousand antiquities - must have been a cunning and crowns for it, he said. Man, he must be off his devious customer in antiquarians' shops. He nut, I thought - all I can do is conclude the deal describes the collector in his element, having faster than the devil! I put the bill in his hand discovered the desired object and entering a quick as lightning." hand to hand combat for it, depreciating it and concealing his own knowledge of its real value. "This one [19th century knife, patriotic roman­ "Much experience is required to do a bargain tic style, handle and sheath carved in pukken­ like that", he states; "It's a combat fa ce to fa ce, holtz] I got it fr om an antique dealer [ . . . ] He where you look straight into the other's eye. rang me up fr om a restaurant in Oslo. He was And what a glance they have, these Jews and broke and half drunk, and needed money for a dealers fromAuvergne!" (Balzac 1847/1 956:35- thorough soaking. [ ...]I ju mped into the car, met 36, trans!. BR). To close this section on cunning him at the restaurant and got it for five thou­ and cautious hunters, we will leave the floorto sand crowns. Then he could go on quenching his Susan Sontag:

70 "That tremor when you spot it. But you don't ance fi1rbid any success with women" (1847/ say anything. You don't want to make the present 1956:7, trans!. BR). We encounter a similar owner aware of its value to you; you don't want compensational idea in Sontag - "Obsessive to drive up the price, or make him decide not to collector::; - natural bachelors" (1992:1 9) - and sell at all. So you keep cool, you examine some­ with several other authors. But both Balzac thing else, you move on or you go out, saying and Sontag pursue their play on words so f�1r you'll be back Yo u perform a whole theatre of' that the reader gets in doubt whether collecting being a little interested, but not immoderately; is to be understood as compensation or as an intrigued, yes, even tempted; but not seduced, erotic experience in itself': bewitched. Not ready to pay even more than is being asked, because you must have it. "IElie Magus! melted by the sight of a great So the collector i::; a dissembler, someone work of' art, like a libertine who is ti red of whose joys arc never unalloyed with anxiety. women comes to life when seeing a young, Because there is always more. Or something beautiful girl and indulges in the hunt fo r better" (Sontag 1992:71-72). flawless beauties. This Don Juan of paintings, this devoted admirer of perfection [ ... I lived in a Eroticismand power harem of beautiful paintings. "

"The unmarried collector 1 ... J sorts his mistress­ es according to style, period, or his artistic "When IElie Magus! came across a work of art temperament", states Maurice Rheims in his to his taste, his life changed; a haul was to be essay on the strange life of objects (1959:21- done, a transaction to be carried through, a 22). Also, some collectors may themselves be great battle to be won. By hook and crook he quite outspoken on the subject of their relation went to work, and no tricks were left untried in to objects, cf. the Danish collector quoted in the order to bring home as cheap as possible the introductory paragraph. But even if many of new woman of his harem." them talk openly about their collector's mania, overt erotic overtones are not so fr equently "Pons and Magus carried in their hearts the heard in their own narratives. But some join in, same jealousy. [ ...] To get the chance to inspect like this collector of old silver and antiquities: the collection of [Pons) filled Elie Magus with the elated sens ofhappiness that is experienced "To be hunting fo r an object and then get it - the only by a woman chaser who manages to enter comparison is a little hackneyed perhaps - but the bedroom of the beautiful mistress that his it's like being out fishing. It's exciting to hook fr iend tries to hide fr om him" (Balzac 1847 I the fish. Once you've got it into the boat, it's 1956:131, 134, 137, trans!. BR). over. It's very much like that. It's sort of an orgasm. Suddenly it's over" (M, b. 1940). With Balzac, comparison alternates with meta­ phor. With Sontag, collecting and eroticism When we turn to fiction, the material is over­ merge: whelming. There is but a short step fr om the passionate conquest of the object to the erotic "Correggio's art. And Venus's groin. You can conquest, if we are to believe numerous literary really possess- even if only for a little while. [ ...) descriptions. de Ia Serna's collector of fe male There are so many objects. No single one is that attributes was described in an artful, allegori­ important. There is no such thing as a mono­ cal fo rm, whereas others are more direct. Balzac gamous collector. Sight is a promiscuous sense. was of the opinion that the sum of passions in The avid gaze always wants more." man was constant; a person with a very strong passion for collecting could hardly harbour oth­ "Collecting is a species of insatiable desire, a er forms of love. Alternatives were scarce for Don Juanism of objects in which each new find unmarried Pons, "a person with beauty and [ ...) generates the added pleasure of score­ refinement in his soul, but whose ugly appear- keeping, of enumeration. Volume and tireless-

71 nu::;::;u f ' cunq uu:-;twou ld lo::;esome of'i t:-;p o i n t and produd i o n and Cl:onomil: values, men more

savior were there not a led�er :-;omewhuru 1 ... 1 than women have a Hi:.tiu:-;t hai co nveys con noi ­

the h:tppy l:on tu mpl a tion of which at ol"f-mo­ ::;cur::; hip . " . .. wllccting was ::;ti ll a virile ocl:upa­ ments l:ounteract s t il L' exha11stion of'desi re that tion", Son tag write::; (1992:22); "It ::;lum med the crot il:aih let i:-;l:o ndumned to and again st f'rom a lordly ::;cnseof' himsclfihaiCatheri ne ­ which he struggle:-;." indeed, all but very fe w women - could not h ave." All eged ly, men confi rm th eir own i m ages "He yielded gratcf'ully to the experience of' sati­ th rough their coll cdi ons, just as they may ety. I nevitably, some of' his co llcding zea l began ::;irengthcn ihei r sui f' i mage through eroiil:l:On ­ to abate. ! ... ! The co llcdin g rl csire mn be enfee­ QLICSiS. Thi s argument leads to the mirror met­ bled by happi ness a cut e en ou gh, croi il:enoug h a ph or: a collecti on fu nctions as a mirror where happiness - anrl the Cavali ere waH h a p py, as the l:ollecior sues what he wants to ::;eu (cf. happy a::; that" (Sontag 1992:71 , 20�, 180). Rh c i m::; 1959, Baudrillurd 1969, Stewart 1984, Cl i ffo rd 1988, Pearce 1995). Thai ihi::; image The l:olludur and Dun Juan are rnalu ::;ucial may contribute to an understanding ofthc self rule::;. No wonder, a::; only men arc expected to that is not only agreeabl e, is a topic for the next ope n ly show pas::;iun, to du::;irc anti to conquer. paragraph. Th e croiil: a::;pedof' wlleding may be given a concrete meaning, a::; in the l:a:>uol " the collector 1)·a.nsgression, loss o/ control and chaos who kepi "a ledger" of his memories of erotic To collect is a passion that may end up as a vice. adventures (cf. Bcl k 199fi). As a metaphor it Many respondents compare collecting to alco­ may represent an anihropo morph i zati on ofthc holism, gambling or drug addiction: the passion object (cf. the Danish collector), or it may mean may be controlled, but there is also a chance an objectification of the woman - as in Sontag that economic and moral rules are broken and (1992:138): "So the old man collected the young fo rtunes lost. To start with the most concrete woman; it cou ld nut have been the other way risks, we shall listen to the advice of an experi­ around." But in any case, the harem and the enced collector of curiosities: Don Juanism of objects arc metaphors that can be applied to any colludor and any collection. "You must make a few deals with yourself and Every collector wants more -just like any Don keep control over your collecting. If you know Juan. And all collections consist of series of about markets coming up, put aside money objects - like a harem. Vittorio Fellini hit the beforehand, as I do. Yo u must be strict with mark when he let his male collector in Citta yourself. It's like alcohol. I know many persons della Donne collect women's underpants! who went to the dogs because they couldn't A harem connotes more than eroticism. It draw the line. [ ...] That's why I have managed a also means power and control. "There is hardly fairly long life both as a user of alcohol and as a a more absolute ruler in a secret harem than a collector. [. . . ] Yo u can't let love surpass reason man amidst his objects", says Baudrillard too often. Then you'll squander everything. You (1969:125). It is a common interpretation that must draw the line" (M, b. 1948). collecting attracts because the collection repre­ sents a closed universe where its master rules Good advice of course, but temptations lurk unconditionally. The collector God imposes or­ everywhere for a collector. Newspapers are all der and system in his little private world. too fu ll of reports on thefts, faking and court The collector bestows economic and moral trials where collectors are implicated, and the value on his objects, simply by incorporating narratives of the (male) respondents abound them in the collection. The collector must have with stories of purchases where months' wages a certain position, self-esteem and self-confi­ are spent - sometimes even of "innocent bor­ dence. A status of connoisseur transfers a corre­ rowing". "They are willing if needs be to risk sponding status to the objects. Thanks to their prosecution to have an old cup, a painting, a traditionally strong position in the world of rare object", Balzac wrote in 1847 (1956:135).

72 "Every collect or iH potent ially (if' not act ually) a argument (1992:1 87) - not without a strong thief', is the harsh comment f'rom Susan Sontag resonance of' both Freud and Baudrillard 150 yearH later (1992:73). "There seems to exist (1968:149-50). Similar thoughts may be traced a special m orality fu r collecton; , who arc driven in other novels; Canetti':; book-collector end:;up by an irresistible dc:;irc to complete the collec­ by bu rning his collection, and Fowles' collector tion", wrote August Strindbcrg(] 910) and went kills his most desired object, the girl. But to on: "Even the most upright among biblioph iles quote Sontag again : " ... should such an an gry is a potential danger to him:;elf' and to others"; collector survive his fi re or fit, he will probably "Yes, 1 had to have that folio, or die", i:; the want to :;tart another collection." Strindbergian collector's concession to theju dge The collector's self-contempt at moments may on the accu:;ation of' thcf'L When pa:;:;ions arc of course be due to the clash between his sense strong, te m ptation:;bec ome numerous. of aesthetics and his strong materialism, a:; But the collector's transgression has conse­ Sontag proposes. However, collecting seems to quences beyond these breaks of' f'ormal rules offer precisely a socially acceptable form of and of social decency, consequences of a more materialism in modern consumer society, ac­ abstract and perso nal kind. Sontag is strongly cording to recent research (Belk 1995), and this preoccupied with destructive and self�destruc­ is probably another reason why collecting is tive aspects of collecting, and her protagonist considered good entertainment. Perhaps Wal­ moves closer and closer to the edge of the vom­ ter Benjamin, himself a book-collector, ofl"ers a iting crater. The volcano metaphor works on better clue with his idea of collecting as a several levels; Ve suvius is the unique and un­ dialectic process between order and chaos: ownable obj ect that the collector is constantly longing fo r; and it stands fo r the collector him­ "For what is this possession [the collection I self, unpredictable and destructive in his pas­ other than chaos, where habit has become so sion; it also reminds us of the uncontrollable much a part of it that it appears as order? Yo u fo rces of Passion itself; and it conveys an image have heard about people who fe ll ill by the loss of the collector's self-contempt in rare moments of their books, and about others who have be­ of self-examination, including a longing for self­ come criminals through their activity. Any or­ destruction. A collector balances on the border der in this field is nothing but an existence on of the unknown, ofhis own destructive fo rces, of the edge of an abyss [ ...) Thus, the collector's his own abolition: existence is dialectically extended between the poles of disorder and order" (Benjamin 1972, "Like passion, whose emblem it is, it can die. [ ... ] transl. BR). The river of fire, after consuming all in its path, will become a river of black stone. Trees will All passion approaches chaos, Benjamin states, never again grow here, ever. The mountain collecting however the chaos of memory. Con­ becomes the graveyard of its own violence: the templating his books when unpacking his li­ ruin the volcano causes includes its own" (Son­ brary, he observed that chance and destiny tag 1992:7). were overwhelmingly present in his collection. Any collection requires systematizing, i.e. or­ The very excessiveness ofthe collecting passion der, but it also serves as a monument of the makes the collector a self-despiser, she claims; arbitrary life ofthe collector. Through the mem­ the collector is preoccupied with the idea of ories that are conveyed by each object, the preservation and conservation and at the same collector is constantly confronted with his past time he is a thief and a robber; he is a lover of - a past that in the case of Benjamin was beauty and an extreme materialist. These marked by chance more than planning, by dis­ contradictions give collectors a divided con­ order more than order. As a collector, he fo und sciousness - which may lead to a longing to be himself hovering above the abyss of memory. purged by a consuming fire, for a holocaust that In my field work I have met two or three may relieve him of his collection. Or so goes her collectors who actually have signalled a certain

73 wearine::;::; - in one ca::;e almost di::;iasie - wiih iR relative, siaies Daniel Fabre. He compares their collection::;. Th • latter on-, was strongly ihe researcher of symbolism io an ex plore r of addicted iu collecting, a per::;on for whom col­ regions increasingly unknown, sometimes hes­ lecti n g wa:; fa r more imporiani ihan whai he i tating io move on and consianily in ::;carchof collected. During a iwo hours inspection of an instruments to find his bea rings in a strange enormous collection ih ai l i tera lly fi lled aiiics, territory (1989:61). The following brief outline, basement and ga rages, nr rathe r live or six very wiih all its biases and shortcomings, is a neces­ unsystematic collections ranging from consum­ sary siep in th is study - in order io understand er's eve ryday items io old paintings , from a rather obscure pari of ihe history of our advertisement posters and old iin cans io vin­ discipline, and io make clear my own position in tage cars, my cicerone gradua l ly became less relation io a long and sinuous history of symbol enihu::;ia::;iic.Ai ihe end ofihe v i s ii , he Ruddenly studies. li is, io quoie Fabre, a search li>r in�:;iru­ looked ai me wiih a weary gaze ihai iold m ore menis to find one's bearings. ihan words, adding: "Sometime:;I gei a fe eling of dullnes�:; and fatigue. li's ioo much!" (M, b. Concepts and traditions 1957). The cultural analyst who wants to bring order We have apparenily moved away fr om our into the use of concepts like symbol, symbolism main subject, eroticism. Bui Sontag takes us and symbolic understanding, is likely to break back. In her symbolic world, ihe coll ector's sell� his neck for obvious reasons: there are so many understanding and fe eling of satiety and excess different definitions and traditions, discipli­ has a parallel in eroticism: nary as well as national; disciplines have bor­ rowed from each other and made adaptations; "Like sexual feelings, when they become a fo cus and there is a lack ofunanimity even within the of dedication or devotion, and are actually lived various disciplines. The problem is not only the out in all their vehemence and addictiveness, so concepts and the vocabulary, but also a lack of the feeling for ari (and beauty) can, after a consensus as to what is actually the object of while, only be experienced as excess, as some­ study. There is a tradition - not least within thing that strains to surpass itself, to be anni­ European ethnology - for a restricted accepta­ hilated. To really love something is to wish to tion of symbolism, aiming at the analysis of die of it. Or to live only in it, which is the same various elements of culture, or "symbols", with thing. To go up and never have to come down" an immediately expressive or communicative (Sontag 1982:340). content. And there is another acceptation of symbolism, or symbolic understanding, that is We have now moved - analytically - through much wider, implying the study of the attribu­ the different phases of the collector's passion; tion ofmeaningthrough the culture's classifica­ fr om the falling in love and the desire for the tion ofthe objects in the world (Lenclud 1991). object, through the hunting and the conquest to In this wide acceptation of symbolism, at least, the erotic aspects, to end up with loss of control, we are still "explorers in a strange and un­ chaos and self-examination. Before the final known world". discussion of this figurative or metaphorical Another important opposition in studies of world - or should we call it symbolic? - we must symbolism is that of meaning versus fu nction, decide what we mean by terms like symbolic or very schematic: what symbols say and what and symbolism. symbols do. In the firstcase, the analysis deals with contents, logic or structural properties of the symbolic systems, which are studied in a Some remarks on symbols and symbol­ cognitive or communicative context. In the sec­ Ism ond case, the studies concentrate on social, To those who believe that the debate on symbols religious and political fu nctions; the symbolic and symbolism may be based on a few simple systems (where rituals play an important part) definitionsone may retort that every definition are investigated in their instrumental aspects

74 and interpreted in rel ation to orgi:lnisuiion and theories. This means that I will include meta­ dominuiion. The Iutter trend in symbol siudie::; phors , allegories and other rhetorical Jigu re::; in has fo und its most fe rtile ::;oil in Ourkheimiun my conception of symbolism as a mode ofihink­ anthropology of rel igion and in fu nctional ing, in acconlance with most an thropological anthropology in the Radcli ffe-Brown tradition theories but contrary to e.g. Eco's semiotic sym­ (Lenclud 1991). As the present study of collect­ bol theory (1984). ing fo cuses on meani ng and structural proper­ Traditions fr om psychoanalysis have also ties, nothing more will be said here about the had their impact on our discipline's pragmatic fu nctionali::;iapproi:lch . use and understanding of symbols and symbol­ Lingui�;iics and semiotics (semiology) have ism. (I here disregard the oldest psychoanalytic furnished the culiun.tl di�;cipline�;with the con­ tradition of investing symbols with one single, cepts of ::;ign and symbol. The two mutually universal meaning, as opposed to the relativist different sign -concepts, hi:lnded down from F. de interpretations of anthropology. ) This double Saussure and W. Sander�;P eirce, seem to be the heritage fr om linguistics and psychoanalysi::; only concepts thai arc not subject to much uncovers a considerable paradox. Both tradi­ disagreement. But as we move on fr om sign to tions would contend that the basic meaning of symbol definitions start to diverge, even be­ a symbol is an object, an activity, an expression tween and within the various semiotic tradi­ etc. that represents something else. But where­ tions, for instance as to the relationship be­ as the paramount interest fr om the linguistic/ tween sign and symbol, whether the symbol is semiotic point of view is interpersonal commu­ an arbitrary or a partly motivated sign, etc. All nication, the psychoanalyst is mainly interest­ the divergent symbol concepts in semiotics, ed in the opposite fu nction, the symbol as a literary th eory and language philosophy (cf. substitute for something else that is hidden to Eco 1984) taken into consideration, the confu­ the individual, its fu nction being to conceal sion around these two concepts in our own repressed ideas to his consciousness. In short, discipline is hardly surprising. Readers of re­ we have to do with either communication or cent issues of Ethnologia Europaea will have censorship, or with conscious versus uncon­ met with circumlocutions like "the signs/sym­ scious use of symbols. Both traditions have had bols which ... ", "the motives/symbols ofthe flag their impact on and been practised in ethno­ ...", "the most prominent signs and symbols ...", logy/anthropology, another reason why some of etc.- in otherwise recommendable articles. On us have fe lt it difficultto reach a deeper under­ a more official level, this somewhat awkward standing ofthe field. Even if part of my material state of affairs became evident last year when fr om fiction is influenced by psychoanalytic German ethnologists arranged their biennial ideas, a fu rther investigation in this direction conference, the subject of which was announced will imply a discussion of unconscious symbols as: Symbole - zur Bedeutung der Zeichen in der and (sexual) compensation. This perspective is Kultur ("Symbols - On the Meaning of Signs in by no means irrelevant when it comes to under­ Culture"). The arrangers had to coin a title standing collecting, but to force the overall where both sign and symbol appeared, and the material into a compensation theory would mean reality behind this is more than a terminologi­ undue reductionism. cal problem. The sign vs. symbol complex, a major con­ However, my material on collecting, as dis­ cern in the tradition of the restricted accepta­ cussed on the preceding pages, does not lend tion of symbolism (see above), is only one part of itself to an analysis of sign and symbols in a the linguistic lesson to anthropology. The lin­ restricted sense (whatever they are), so I shall guistic basis lead to a perception of symbolism not undertake the risky task of proposing (prag­ as a system of symbols, rather than a series of matic) workable definitions. Also, as I find no isolated symbols (as in the old Freudian tradi­ support in traditional semiotics for an analysis tion). This insight fo und its utmost expression ofthe systematic symbolic aspects of my mater­ in structural anthropology, as demonstrated by ial, I shall look to competing anthropological Claude Levi-Strauss, whose analysis concen-

75 trated upon the fim11al a nd logic org:tniRation of' hiR object of' Rtudy. But it became increasingly symboiR mor • than on the contentofmeuning in el i fficult to maintain that humanity wa�:�divid ed the �:�eparate symbols. Preci�:�elythiR systematic in thi�:�wa y. Slowly it became clear that every­ aspect of' �:�ymboli�:�m ha�:� attracted my atten­ one, modern we�:�tern man included, ha�:� the tion, a�:� i t. gives an opportunity to discus�:� the potential lor both ways of' thinki ng. But the systematic character of' the metaphors that 1 researcher had been so well trained to repress h av e met in the m a teri a l on collecting. symbolic th inking in his own mind, to the profit Structurali�:�m, ta ken as a philosophy or as a of' rati onal thi nking , that he was blind to the scientific method, ha�:� been �:�ubject to �:�evere �:�ymbolic thinking in his own, civilized world.

criticism for a couple of' decade�:�,and rightf'ully. "The savage mind" or "la pens6e sauvage ", to " But as a w ay of �:�eeing things", to quote Ed­ borrow an expression from Levi- Strauss, was m und Leach, structuraliRm can still con tribute everywhere. to the study of' cultu re. This leads us to the provisional conclusion th at symboli sm is an alternative way of' com­ The metaphoric I metonymic principle - n .� truc­ prehending and interpreting the world. The turnlist approach great paradox for the researcher is th at even if I have so far ignored one important element of he acknowledges the existence in himself of a the history of ethnology, viz. the discourse on symbolic way of thinking, he has to formulate primitive thought. C lassification i�:� indi�:�pensa­ this i nsight by means of a logical, scientific ble for research, but at the risk of distorting language. But his best ally is the artist and perspectives or losing certain a�:�pect�:�. Ethno­ author of fiction, who is free to do "research" logical research, not least in museum�:�, have and interprete things his way. tended to systematize cultural material in cate­ Yet we have not explained how symbols work. gories, under headings like agriculture, cos­ Let us lend an ear to the structuralist's explana­ tumes, fo od and diet, crafts and trades, etc. But tion of the systematic character of signs in there was a series of phenomena that escaped culture. When a concrete phenomenon - an classification, or rather were put together in object, an action, a narrative ... - may be per­ one box: objects, words and deeds, attitudes, ceived in a symbolic sense, i. e. as representing ideas and conceptions that referred to beliefs, something else that it obviously is not fr om a superstition, symbolism - or whatever this realistic point of view, this must be due to some heterogenous leftovercategory was called. That sort of similarity that makes possible a compar­ symbolism is an aspect that intersects all em­ ison of the two. This similarity cannot reside in pirical categories is a modern insight. substance, nor in fo rm, as these are different by Researchers were of course children of their definition. There remains, however, the possi­ time, and the heritage fr om evolutionism was bility for similarity or identity in structure, that tenacious. Habits, opinions and popular is a structure that may repeat itself in different interpretations that did not fitin with scientific types of substance. Without endorsing all ideas thinking was far into the afterwar period seen and principles of structural anthropology (sev­ as a sign of irrationality, something that marked eral of which must probably be discarded to­ "The Other", whether a native in a primitive day), it seems apropriate to draw the attention culture or a primitive (= peasant) in our own to one of their basic postulates: that metaphor­ culture. Collected popular culture material in­ ical cross-references between dissimilar cultur­ dicated that humanity was divided in two: those al phenomena is possible only because their who thought rationally, and those who thought structures are identical. (NB: postulates do not symbolically. only belong to prelogical thinking, as it used to The ethnologist's burden until fairly recent­ be contended!) ly has been this idea of a division between two The structuralist claimed that it is with ways ofthinking; the researcher's tool was the culture as it is with natural languages, because logical, rational way of thinking, as opposed to language is part of culture: both are governed the prelogical or symbolic way, represented by by a set of rules (a "grammar") and a system of

76 classifications. The crown case i::;the ::;imiluri ­ figure::; are remarkable to r three reason::;:th eir ties bctween eating and ::;cxual behaviour. Rule::;, high number, their sy stematic character, and as mu ch a::; biology, cla::;::;ily between what i::; because of all the cros::;-relcrence::;betw een col­ eatable and not, and other rule::;te ll u::;how a nd lecting and Rex uality, or eroticism. when and where to gather, prepare and cat the A close look atthe discourse on collecting has fo od. In every culture there i::;a "food grammar", revealed a long series of coherent and mutu ally as speci a li sed and refi ned as any grammar ­ interdependent metaphors and comparisons. and dini ng etc. is a way of communicating, like J n hu man experience these images represent talking. The parad igmatic axi::; (the "vertical" elements that go together in a syntagmatic list of alternatives or interchangeable items) chain: passion and desire - chase and conquest offersthe metaphors, whereas the syntagmatic - a concentration on what is unique and an axis (the "hori:wnal" sequence, incl ud i ng prox­ unquenchable thirst for the series - masculin­ imity and con text) cater::; f(,r the metonomies. ity and virility - power and egoism - satisfac­ The same applies to the "grammar" for sexual tion and satiety - transgression and destruc­ comportment, with rules for what i::; permitted tion - and (perhaps) self-examination; things and what i::; not, who you can have a relation to, allowed and things unwarranted, things covet­ etc., i. e. di::;tinction::; that belong to culture, not ed and odious things - according to cultural to nature. rules. These two field:; - of eatin g and of ::;exuality The discourse on collecting links together -are commonly referred to because they appear two apparently very different fields of human to be identical in structure. They have so many activity. The act of collecting material objects is similarities that metaphorical cross-references continually being compared to sexual comport­ are very common. This had been observed for a ment and referred to in terms of relations be­ long time, in psychoanalysis as well as in fu nc­ tween the two sexes. Such linking represents a tionalist anthropology. But it was structural fo rm of experience and a manner of expression anthropology that proposed an analysis that that used to be associated with prelogical or was far more sophisticated than that of Frazer, symbolic thought, but that we now acknowl­ Radcliffe-Brown or Freud. Behind this analysis edge as our own way of thinking also. And we hides another postulate, viz. that the human might as well accept the formal explanation mind, which creates all these systems and classi­ proposed by the structuralist, viz. that these fications, is in itself an entity that creates cross-references are possible only because the similar structures in all its products - be it human brain has structured these two fields of languages, eating, sexuality, dreaming ... - and experience, as well as the language that we use why not collecting? to express them, in the same way. However, fo rmal structure can explain only why this linking is possible. But why do we Towards a conclusion select just eroticism as a parallell to collecting, Collecting and structure - and so what? and not other important spheres of activity? Collecting covers a broad range of practices Which categories do the two fields have in (from the taxonomic to the aesthetic way of common that are so important? Are there some collecting) and of activities (chasing, systema­ basic human needs that find their expression tizing, exhibiting, studying ... ), of aims and primarily in these two spheres? And how to motivations, and of types of objects collected. explain its almost universal character, as we No single, isolated symbolic expression can findthe same linking in most (or in all?) west­ possibly capture this broad and varied field of ern cultures and languages? activities. As shown in the firstsec tion, there is So far we have concluded that the elaborate actually a surprising world of images associ­ discourse on collecting and eroticism may be ated with collectors and collecting, in everyday defined assymboli sm, or symbolic understand­ parlance and in popular opinion as well as in ing, at least in a fo rmalist and structuralist the artist's fictional world. These rhetorical meaning of the term. It is a recurrent problem,

77 however, with analy:;es nl' formal aspect:; uf one may be as strong us the other, a nd thiK gives culture that they very often pu�:�h ahead ofthcm a pla tt

paintings as a lover looks at a mi stress" (Balzac) Colledinf.{ - nn nmbif.{IIOIISnctiv ity <:tnd themo dernncwsp apcrjournalist who wrote There can be no doubt that passion and desire about a collector that "He collected :;tamps, lie at the core of both collecting and eroticism. while the rest of his classmates collected girls" To insist on the role of passion i n an erotic aff�lir (Af1-enposten28.4 .199fi).And Susan Sont a g does would be a waste uftimc. But the rclation�:�hip not even bother to name her characters. People between passion and collecting is worth while and things merge, and this is a central char­ expanding on. We may contend that against acteristic uf all images used in the discuur�:�eon passion for sexual gratification �:�tand:; the col­ collecting and eroticism. lector's passion for possession. It is commonly There weighs a basic ambiguity upon collect­ thought that collecting represents the qui nt­ ing, which may be explained as a clash between essence of possessing and the collector the em­ society's norms and the collector'�:�pract ice, with bodiment of a possessor. By definition, a collec­ reference to the oppositions people-things, im­ tor's item should be neither for practical usc (in material-material and animate-inanimate. The that case he is a user or a hoarder) nor only an discourse on collecting insists upon a basic economic investment (in that case he is an similarity in our behaviour towards what is investor). An object is collected precisely be­ animate and what is inanimate. In spite of our cause it is useless (= aesthetic or symbolic), and humanistic ideals that make a sharp distinc­ its fu nction in a collection is simply tu be pos­ tion between people and things, the collector sessed. "It was no longer the chase that ob­ overtly and publicly shows strong emotions for sessed him, but the sheer joy of ownership", what is material and inanimate. According to says Sontag (1992:180). Baudrillard is outspo­ our cultural norms (and also our logical, scien­ ken on this point: tificthinking), emotions should be directed to­ wards living creatures and spiritual values, not "Let us admit that our everyday objects actual­ towards dead things. Still, in the emotional life ly are the objects of a passion - the passion for ofthe avid collector distinctions between people private possession. The emotional strength of and objects seem to be wiped out. this passion is by no means inferior to our Because the collector openly defies society's passions for people. We experience this passion ideology and norms (but not its mentality) every day. Sometimes it has complete mastery through his materialism, he has become a fo cus over us, in the absence of other passions. As a of interest. To some, he plays the role of the passion our possessiveness is kept in balance, clown; he is the fo ol who is accepted because he unclear, controlling - and we are hardly con­ reminds us of our hypocrisy, that we are mater­ scious of its basic role for the equilibrium of the ialists without acknowledging it. Others will individual and the group, even for the will to despise him and consider his activity (sexual) live. As such, [ ...] the objects are a mental fe nce compensation or fetishism. But the majority that marks the borders of my kingdom; I am seem to respect him and his activities because their ultimate meaning [ ...]" (Baudrillard they fe el a resonance of their own relationship 1968:120, trans!. BR). to things, even ifthe difference in degree may be considerable. I venture that an important rea­ Thus passion and possession go together, just son for the collector to attract so much attention like passion and eroticism. In one case passion is to be fo und in our ambiguity to materialism. for objects, in the other passion for persons. The But can collecting be reduced to possessive-

78 ness and materialism only? Certainly not! In Fabre, Daniel 1989: Le ::;yrnbolis me en questions. In: Martine Segalen (ed.): VAntre et /e semhlable. one of her novels, 1'ove .Jansson lets the �:hara�:­ il<'- 1-(ards Sill' L'etluwlo!-(ie des societt>s I'OIItempontim•s. ter Hem ulen (�:olledorof'beetles und of stamps) Paris. complete a special collection. When realizing P'laubert, Gustave 1.979 ( 1880/1881 ): Bou van/ el Pricu­ what had happened , his reaction was dismay cliet. PariR. Formanek, Huth 1.994: Why they coiled. Collectors and deep consternation !or having become only reveal their motivations. In: Susan Pearce: Inter­ an owner o f ' stamps and not being a �:ollector preting Objects and Collections. London. any longer! Collecting is also play, creativity Fowles, John 1965 (1963): The Collect01: London. and aesthetic pradi�:e - other �:harudcristi�:s P'riilich, Juliette 1993: Om rnenneskerog Ling i ro­ Samtid fcJrtid. that it has in common with eroticism . There m ancn. og Museumsnettverkct nr. 2. Oslo, Norges Forskningsrad. seems to be no simple und unambiguous answer Leach, Edmund 1970: Claude Levi-Strauss. Oslo. to our question why two important fields of Lenclud, Gerard 1991: Symbolis me. ln: Dictionnain• human experien�:e may symbolize each other. de L'etluwlogie et de L'an th.ropulogie. Paris. Levi-Strauss, Claude 1962: Lapen .�ee sa.1wage.Pari s. Mucnstcrbcrgcr, Werner 1994: Collecting: An Un m/y Pa ssion. Psych ological Perspectives. Princeton. References Ha inard, Jacques et H. Kaehr (cds.) 1982: Collection s passion. Neuchatel. Aftenposten 28.4.1995. O::;lo. Pearce, Susan 1994: lnte1preting Objects and Collec­ a Attali, D niclle 1989: La passion de8 coll1•ctions. tion .�. London. Paris. Pearce, Susan 1995: On Collecting: An Investiga tion Balzac, Honore de 1956 (184 7): Le cousin Pons. Paris. into Collecting in the European Tradition. London. Baudrillard, Jean 1969: Le systeme des obje ts. Paris. Perce, George 1978: La vie mode d'emploi. Rom an . Belk, Russel W. 1995: ColLecting in a Con sumer Soci- Paris. ety. London and New Yo rk. Rheims, Maurice 1959: La vie etrange des objets. Benjamin, Walther 1972 11': Gesammelte Schrif�en. Histuire de la curiosite. Paris. Frankfurt am Main. Rhcims, Maurice 1992: Apollon a Wa ll Street Paris. Canetti, Elias 1963: Die Blendung. Miinchen. Rogan, Bj arne 1996: Et m0tested for maskulin liden­ Claverie, Elisabeth 1987: Lcs symbol ismes majeures. skap og teminin estetikk? En forell!lpig drl!lfting av In: Chiva, Isac & Utz Jeggle: Ethnologies en miroir kj 0nnsperspektiver ved samling. Dugnad vo!. 22 Paris. no. 3. Oslo. Clifford, James 1988: Th e Predicament of Culture: Samlarn:ytt. Organ fo r riksf

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