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Olmec Art at Dumbarton Oaks Pre-Columbian Art at Dumbarton Oaks, No. 2 OLMEC ART AT DUMBARTON OAKS OLMEC ART AT DUMBARTON OAKS Karl A. Taube Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection Washington, D.C. Copyright © 2004 by Dumbarton Oaks Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, D.C. Library of Congress Cataloging-in Publication Data to come To the memory of Carol Callaway, Alba Guadalupe Mastache, Linda Schele, and my sister, Marianna Taube—four who fought the good fight CONTENTS PREFACE Jeffrey Quilter ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi List of Plates xii List of Figures xiii Chronological Chart of Mesoamerica xv Maps xvi INTRODUCTION: THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF OLMEC RESEARCH 1 THE DUMBARTON OAKS COLLECTION 49 BIBLIOGRAPHY 185 APPENDIX 203 INDEX 221 Preface lmec art held a special place in the heart of Robert Woods Bliss, who built the collection now housed at Dumbarton Oaks and who, with his wife, Mildred, conveyed the gar- Odens, grounds, buildings, library, and collections to Harvard University. The first object he purchased, in 1912, was an Olmec statuette (Pl. 8); he commonly carried a carved jade in his pocket; and, during his final illness, it was an Olmec mask (Pl. 30) that he asked to be hung on the wall of his sick room. It is easy to understand Bliss’s predilection for Olmec art. With his strong preference for metals and polished stone, the Olmec jades were particularly appealing to him. Although the finest Olmec ceramics are masterpieces in their own right, he preferred to concen- trate his collecting on jades. As Karl Taube discusses in detail in this volume of Pre-Columbian Art at Dumbarton Oaks, Olmec jades are the most beautiful stones worked in Mesoamerica. Whether simple or elaborate, the shapes and inscriptions painstakingly worked in jade never overwhelm the presence of the stone itself. Variations in light change colors from almost blue to subtle gray to brilliant green and shift the sense of density of the material from translucent to deeply opaque or somewhere in be- tween. This magical quality of jade must have been a principle reason why the stone assumed such importance so early in Mesoamerican culture, a status that had remained undiminished at the time of the Spanish arrival. Although Olmec jades have an immediate, sensual appeal to modern tastes, the meanings they had to their makers have remained elusive. The hot and humid lowlands of Tabasco and Veracruz, the home of the Olmec, have not been inviting to archaeologists nor have they been kind to ancient remains more perishable than hard stone or fired clay. As Taube discusses in his intro- duction to the catalogue, it was not until the late 1950s that the Olmec were finally and securely recognized as earlier than the Maya and other, better-known cultures of ancient Mesoamerica. We are thus still in the very early stages of learning about the people of this ancient culture and the art they produced. The great Mexican anthropologist Alfonso Caso referred to the Olmec as a “Mother Culture” from which all subsequent Mesoamerican civilizations sprang, a view shared by his colleague Miguel Covarrubias and only a handful of others at the time. We now know that the Olmec were not the only makers of art and culture in early Mesoamerica, but questions remain regarding the origins, spread, and influence of the Olmec art style, in distinction to the Olmec archaeological culture of the heartland. Important field research by archaeologists of Mexico, North America, and other nations is ongoing, building on the work of an earlier generation that included Matthew Stirling and Michael D. Coe, both personal friends and advisors to Robert Bliss. The Olmec did serve as a “Mother Culture” in one sense, producing the seed from which the Bliss collection grew. The scholarship that Dumbarton Oaks has supported over the years has helped to advance knowledge of this ancient American culture and many others. Karl Taube and I offer this volume as one more contribution to this goal, cultivating the plant germinated by the seed of Robert Woods Bliss’s first jade statuette. ix Preface Because so much basic work remains to be done, our view of the Olmec in ten or twenty years may be very different from what it is today. This fact, combined with our primary goal being a catalogue of the collection at Dumbarton Oaks, has encouraged us to avoid a detailed synthesis of research on the Olmec with all of the alternative points of view represented. Instead, Taube dis- cusses the objects from his own unique and highly informed perspective. Many of his insights are new and intriguing, and some may be controversial, but all of them are original and engaging, making a significant contribution to Olmec scholarship in addition to providing the essential facts about the objects presented here. As the current editor of the catalogue series, I wish to offer my personal thanks to some of the many people who helped make this volume possible, many of whom are thanked by Karl Taube in his acknowledgment. First and foremost, I thank Karl who took on and achieved this ambitious and sometimes daunting project. It has been a pleasure to work with him. I offer a most sincere appreciation to Angeliki Laiou, director of Dumbarton Oaks during the genesis and early growth of this work. Edward Keenan, the current director of Dumbarton Oaks, is thanked for his continu- ing support of the project. Very special thanks are extended to Marlene Chazan, director of the Financial Office, who was patient and generous with her time and resources in dealing with the sometimes tortuous financial details of working with this project. The late Carol Hamill Callaway, assistant curator of the Pre-Columbian collection, was vital in moving the catalogue along with her energy and good humor. This was the last manuscript for Dumbarton Oaks on which she worked, and it is fitting that the volume is dedicated in part to her. Her successor, Loa Traxler, was valiant in plunging into a work in progress and succeeded remark- ably well in helping to bring the project to closure. Warren Church also did great service to this work in his role as curatorial associate during 1997 and 1998. Bridget Gazzo, the librarian of Pre- Columbian Studies, has helped with innumerable bibliographic matters. Photographer Joe Mills has admirably captured much of the evanescent qualities of jade, so difficult to reproduce. Russel Feather of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natu- ral History and Paul Jett of the Freer Gallery have offered their vital technical skills. Janice Will- iams has assisted in a myriad number of ways, keeping track of files, correspondence, photo- graphs, and the like. The staff of the Publications Department at Dumbarton Oaks, especially Glenn Ruby and Robin Surratt, were patient and caring in their ministrations to get the final manuscript into shape and in print. I wish to offer very special thanks to Billie Follensbee, who served as an intern in Pre-Columbian Studies from 1997 to 1999, while she was a graduate student in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at the University of Maryland. A specialist in things Olmec, Billie was invaluable in working with pictures and texts, catching missteps in the production process, and in tracking a host of details. Her service above and beyond the call of duty is greatly appreciated, and her knowl- edge of Olmec art and archaeology made a crucial difference in speeding the project along. Finally, thanks to the many scholars who have contributed to this volume in direct and indi- rect ways. These include scholars who have never crossed the threshold of Dumbarton Oaks, sym- posium participants, occasional visitors, fellows, and senior fellows of Pre-Columbian Studies. Their dedication to their subjects of interest and their goodwill and fellowship have not only sus- tained this project but also have enriched the experiences of all who work in Pre-Columbian Studies. Jeffrey Quilter x Acknowledgments great many people assisted in the completion of this volume. Over the years, I have benefited greatly from conversations with Olmec experts Michael D. Coe, Peter David AJoralemon, Gillett G. Griffin, and F. Kent Reilly III. Many other scholars also freely shared information with me, including Phillip Arnold, Elizabeth P. Benson, John E. Clark, Ann Cyphers, Richard Diehl, William and Barbara Fash, Rebecca González Lauk, David Grove, Stephen D. Hous- ton, Mary E. Miller, Heather Orr, Ponciano Ortíz, María del Carmen Rodríguez, Javier Urcid, Linda Schele, and David Stuart. I am also grateful for the comments and suggestions provided by my colleagues and students in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California at Riverside, particularly Gene Anderson, Monica Bellas, Charles Bouscaren, Michael Carter, Scott L. Fedick, Debra George, Marc Hintzman, Karl James Lorenzen, and Philip J. Wilke. A major portion of this catalog was written while I was a fellow in the Center for Ideas and Society at the University of California at Riverside. A number of individuals were of great help at Dumbarton Oaks, including the former, acting, and current directors of Pre-Columbian Studies, respectively, Elizabeth H. Boone, Richard A. Diehl, and Jeffrey Quilter; I especially want to thank Jeff for his editorial comments and suggestions. I am very grateful to former Assistant Curator Carol Callaway for her thoughtful assistance with the collection, editorial advice, and insights on some of my line drawings. Warren Church also kindly provided access to items in the collection at Dumbarton Oaks and editorial comments. In addition, Janice Williams, assistant to the director of Pre-Columbian Studies, has been of great help, both during my visits to Dumbarton Oaks and while I was writing this volume in California.
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