Dumbarton Oaks, V. the Pre-Columbian Collection

Dumbarton Oaks, V. The Pre-Columbian Collection

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Citation Benson, Elizabeth P. 1971. Dumbarton Oaks, V. The Pre-Columbian Collection. Harvard Library Bulletin XIX (2), April 1971: 208-210.

Citable link https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37363902

Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA V. THE PRE-COLUMBIAN COLLECTION ' ...... Eliz((betb P. Be11so11

The hjstory of the Robert "\-~1oods DlissCollection of Pre-Columbian Art began in Paris in 19r 2t ,vhen Rojrall Tyler., the father of the present Director of Dun1barto11Oa.k~, took l\1r~ Bliss to see a group of P rc-(:ol 0111 bian obj ccts. ,i\1it h in th c icar., I\1r. BIiss acquired a j adeitc figure of a standing 1nan- fion1 the Ol1nec culture on the Gulf coast of l'v1cxico - ,v hich is still one of the finest pieces in the c ollcction. During the succeeding years, !v1r.Bliss continued to collect objects

tl1st ha.d been n1ud~ in l\1cxico 1 G-u::1.ten1alnJCosta Rica., Panan1ai Co~ lon1hia, :1nd Peru before the Spanish conqutst of the Nevt 1,rorld. I-Ic ,vas a pioneer collector, in that he chose these objects prin1arily for their aesthetic \vorth at a time ,vhcn such artifacts ,vere generally only the concern of archaeologists and ethnographic rnuseun1s~ His taste has proved to be valid as ,veH as ad venturousr for today most of the large art n1useunlsof this country have collections of Prc-C olum bian 'ilrt, 2nd the nl1n1ber of private collections of fine Pre-Colu1nbian objects is still gro,ving. After he and l\1rs. Bliss had conveyed Du1nbarton Oaks to Harvard in 1 940, J\.fr. B 1iss conccntr~ tcd more inte ns cly on his Pre-Col t1n 1 bi an collection, and con tinu cd to c o1lect assiduously 1111 til his dca th in 1962. By the 1nid-f orties., the collection had ass.umed such importance and ~ttrncted such pn blic interest that, in April 1 94 7, it ,vas placed on exhibition nt the National Gal1ery of Art, ,vhere it remained, its size and area. of instal 1 a ti on expanding, until July 196 2 • .l\11r. Bliss bequeathed the result of ·his fifty years of selective col- lecting to Dun1 barton Oaks. Before his death., he sa,v th c plans {or the nc\v ,ving designed by Philip Johnson to honse the collection in its permanent installation. The collection ,vas opened to the public at Dun1 barton Oaks in December 1 9 6 3. The \ving, contc1n p orary in St}Tlc~consists of eight circular glass pavilions, arrnngcd in a. square

around a circular f OU n ta.iIl th at is Open to the sky r Each pavilion is covered by a shallo,v don1c supported on·a brorize entablature ,vhich rests on eight dru1ns sh eat hed in marble. The floors arc radiating circles _ofteak. The hni1ding is an appropriate setting for sn1all-scalc

objects that ,vere chosen for their skilled craftsn1anship1 their fine

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Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 2 (April 1971) Du1nbarto12Oaks 209

materials, and their cle gant farms.. Th c glass ,valls of th c building1 ,vhich is placed in a corner of the garden, sho\v a background of trees a.nd flo,vcring shrubs . .. The justa 1la ti on of the objcc ts is arranged genera11 y.. according to

period and ph1cc. Fron1 the Ohnec culture 1 the earliest civilization in l\1exico, dating back to about r 200 B ..C .. there are a nu111bcrof fine] y carved and hig hl y polished obj ecrs of jade, serpcnti ne., and other hard stones. '"f he grca t classic period in J\1id dl e Arn erica is represented by a ,vealth of 1naterial. Frorn Tcotihuacin, in the high- lands of central l\1cxico, there arc c~rvcd stone 1nasks and plastered and painted pottery-.. The lVlaya civilization is exemplified by sculp- ture, painted and carYed pottcr}r 8nd figurines, and delicate ornaments

of jade and shell r Tl le. classic pcrio d of cc n tral \Tcracruz is reprcscntc d h) 7 ccrcn1 onial ballgan1e equipmcnt handson1ely-carved stone yokes

and bnchas.. Fronl the 1ater i\1ixteca-Puebln culture of Oaxnca 1 there is spJendid cast gold je,velry, and fron1 the Aztec period, just before the time of the Conquest,· there is stone scu1pture of deities and ani- ma Is. Central An1er i ca is represented by highly polished jade '' axe~ god,, pendants and cast gold orna1ncnts fron1 Costa Rica, by gold

p c.nd an ts cast in th c 1ost-,, r-axprocess f ton1 Pana 1naI an

Canal Zone.. l~ron1 Colo1nbiaconies a great variety of gold ob;ccts 1 and fro rn Peru th ere arc textil cs, pottery, lapi-d ary V{OI k, sn1al l objects of carved stone~ 2nd ornaments and tools of gold~ silver, bronze, and copper, ranging in date f ro1n the vcr)r carl y Chav in civilization to the last P .re-Columbian pea pl c in Peru, the Inca~ The collection has gro,vn to some extent since "l\1r.Bliss's de:tth, a number of objects having been giv·enby l\1rs. Bliss. There arc no,v more than t,vo hundred pieces on exhibition. The collection is open to the public in the afternoons) and also to scho.ol groups ,vho come for specially arranged tours in the mornings~ ,, arious activities have grovln up around the collection. Public lee- tu res on Pre~Colun1bia11 subjc cts arc occasional1 y presented. A Hand- book of tbe Robert Tf'oods Bliss Collection of Pre-Colrnnbian Art

,vas published nt the time of the open.ing1 -and a supplement to this handbook \Vas put out in the spring of r969 .. In r 966t a series of occasional paperstStudies iu Pre-Colu111bianArt and Archaeology, ,vas ini- tiated. Seven of these 111onographshave no,v appeared, some dealing ,vjth objects in the co]lection and others ,vith subjects ,vhich have

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 2 (April 1971) 210 Harvard Library B111letin been considered in1portant, a !though not directly related to the collection. In October 1967; n conference on the Olmec ,va.s held, nt ,v hich six scholars , vere invite

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 2 (April 1971) CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

ELIZABETH P~ BENSOK, Curator of the Robert \:Voods Illiss Collection of Pre- 0 i ln n1 bi an A rt ::it the Du rn1 }~ rton O ks Research Library and Collection, is the author of 1.,beAlaya H7 o:rld, \Vhich \Vas puLiishcd by Cro,,·ell in HJ67.

l\ 1KS. El .1ZAUETH j\ 1A DDREN IlLAJ-;" o is Asso ci a tc Curator of th c Il y~.antin c Co1- lecti on at the J)u1nhnrton Onks H.eseatch J....ibr::iry nnd CoJlection.

JAi\'lES G. FRAsr.Ris an A nglicnn priest in the Diocese of l\·1elbourne, and hes been a lecturer on Old Tcst:an1cnt language :ind literature at Ridley Col-

ege 1 i\-JeJhourne} and at the University of St. Andre\VS\ Scotland.

0\VRN Gn•.a.;nnct-1i!:i .Profts~or nf A~trono1ny ::indof the Hi~tory of Science :at I-Iar vard; T /; eor-y and O bservat io u of Norn 1nl Stell a:rA t1uo spbere s {P roe ccd- in gs of the Third I-larvard~Sn1ithsonian Conference on Stellar Atn1ospheres)t ,vhich he cditccl) ,vas published by the f\1.I.T~ Press in 1969~

HARLEY P. }IoLDEN is Assjstant Curator of the I-farvard Unhrcrsity Archivcsr

D c N CAK IsLEs tea ch es at Hir kb eek College of the U l1 iversi ty of l..rondon+

A, .AN T. j\1c K F.N7..IP j s A,i;;sistr1nt Prof es-sorof F.ng lis h at Purdue Uni \'Crsity 4

1\1ARY G + 1\1:ASON is Assistant Prof cssor of Eng Hsh at En11112:nucl College in Boston; her ll a.rvard doctoral dissertation ( I 9 67) ,vas on 1 The Imaginary Por- tra.its of ,~ralter Pater/ 1

STu ART F. C. N 1ERri.tEI ER is Assistant Prof cssor in the D cp a rnn ent of English at Univ crsigr Co Hege of the University of Toronto.

JoHN S. THACHER is Honomry Associate of the Oaks Research Li bra r y an

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Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XIX, Number 2 (April 1971)