OPEN LETTER TO THE KIMBELL ART MUSEUM ABOUT ACQUISITION OF A PERUVIAN HUARI STATUE
Peru Huari Statue (Open letter to Kimbell Art Museum)
Dear Samantha Sizemore,
December 31 I informed the Museum Security Network mailinglist subscribers about the Peruvian HUARI statue the Kimbell Art Museum acquired, and about the request for provenance information I sent to your museum. The very same day the Museum Security Network Mailinglist (MSNM) received a reaction from Peru by Mariana de Paese. Mariana's message did not only reach 2100 MSNM subscribers worldwide, but also several people in her 'personal' network both in Peru and the USA.
January 7 you informed me about a small part of this statue's provenance. This provenance was provided by Andre Emmerich and Sotheby's. I will refrain from any comments about the source of your provenance information other than that in my opinion neither an auction house's nor an antiquities dealer's temporary possession of a cultural object constitute the sort of information that really is relevant. The only relevant information is information about how Mr. Emmerich acquired this statue, the way this statue left Peru, and whether this statue left this country in accordance with local rules and laws.
I do realize that 1970 - the year according to Emmerich's declaration this statue came in his possession - the USA did not yet ratify the Unesco Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. I also realize that the 1986 ratification by the USA is not retroactive. In my opinion, in this case not only legal, but also ethical and moral standards are applicable. This statue may have reached the USA long before ratification of the Unesco 1970 Convention, but it reached the Kimbell Art Museum - signatory of the ICOM Code of Ethics - long after that date. The Kimbell Art Museum really is obliged to perform sufficient efforts to try and discover how this HUARI statue left Peru and arrived in the USA.
On behalf of the MSNM subscribers and very interested parties both in Peru and your country I urge you to answer my e-mail to you dated January 7, 2003. To avoid future unnessary correspondence I advise you to refrain from legal argumentation, but take moral and ethical aspects in consideration as well. Acceptable possession of this statue by no means may only be founded on legal arguments, but more importantly on ethical standards.
For your convenience I have included all earlier correspondence about this matter at the end of my e-mail.
Sincerely yours,
Ton Cremers
December 31, message to the Museum Security Network messages to the mailinglist mailinglist:
Kimbell Art Museum Acquires Rare Peruvian Figurine
FORT WORTH, (amnnews.com) — The Kimbell Art Museum has announced the acquisition of a rare Peruvian inlaid figurine from the Huari empire (600–1000 A.D.), the first piece of South American art to enter the Museum’s collection. This is the only known example of a Huari freestanding figurine entirely covered in the inlaid shell technique. There are only a handful of known works that utilize this technique, among which the Kimbell’s newly acquired figurine is one of the finest. The figure is now on display as part of a new cross-cultural sculpture installation in the south galleries. The installation includes works from civilizations around the world—Western, Asian, Precolumbian, and African—that are integrated in a broadly chronological sequence spanning more than 4,000 years. more: http://www.amnnews.com/press.jsp?id=1224
moderator's comment:
The Kimbell Art Museum has been requested to inform the Museum Security Network about the provenance of this valuable acquisition...
Reaction from Peru (Mariana de Paese)
HUARI, and the Kimbell Art Museum acquisition of a very rare Peruvian item From: "Mariana M. de Pease" curaca@terra.com.pe Subject: HUARI Date sent: Tue, 31 Dec 2002 07:57:03 -0500
Museum Security Network informa hoy sobre la adquisición hecha por el Kimbell Art Museum de una rara figurina peruana cuyos orígenes están documentados en el Imperio Huari (600-1000 d.C), para ser exhibida en su sala dedicada a las civilizaciones mundiales cuya secuencia cronológica se extiende unos 4,000 años y cuya finalidad es la presentación cultural en cruz. Esta pieza es el único ejemplo de una figurina Huari de pie enteramente cubierta de la técnica de concha incrustada. >
MUSEUM SECURITY NETWORK HA SOLICITADO AL KIMBELL ART MUSEUM QUE INFORME SOBRE LA PROCEDENCIA DE ESTA VALIOSA ADQUISICIÓN.
Esta entrega de MUSEUM SECURITY NETWORK sobre la forma de estudiar -a comienzos del siglo XXI- para comprender el arte universal mediante el trabajo cultural en cruz, debe enseñar a los diversos especialistas en el arte latino americanos desde su orígenes hasta nuestros días sobre la urgencia de establecer un claro vínculo entre los orígenes y la procedencia del arte para avanzar en el conocimiento y entendimiento humano. Por favor, proporcionar cualquier información que contribuya a esclarecer la procedencia de esta pieza Huari.
Mariana Mould de Pease
para más información, veáse http.//www.museum-security.org/02/156.html
January 7, 2003 answer from the Kimbell Art Museum, plus reaction from Museum Security Network mailinglist moderator:
Re: Huari, Standing Dignitary (Kimbell Art Museum declaration) On 7 Jan 2003 at 9:24, Samantha Sizemore wrote:
Dear Mrs. Mould de Pease and Museum Security Network Members,
Thank you very much for your inquiry regarding the Kimbell's new acquisition, the Huari Standing Dignitary, and please accept my apology for the delay in responding. I am pleased to release the following provenance information to you:
Andre Emmerich and Alan Lapiner, 1970 The Collection of Alice M. Kaplan, 1970-1999 Private collection, United States, 1999-2002
I hope you find this information useful. Thank you for your interest in the Kimbell Art Museum.
Sincerely, Samantha Sizemore Curatorial Assistant Kimbell Art Museum 3333 Camp Bowie Boulevard Fort Worth, TX 76107-2792 Tel: (817) 332-8451, ext. 233 Fax: (817) 877-1264 E-mail: ssizemore@kimbellmuseum.org
Dear Samantha Sizemore,
Thank you very much for your response to my query about the provenance of the very rare Huari statue the Kimbell Art Museum acquired recently. I did already notice the provenance information in Sotheby's catalogue. However, a few questions remain. The Andre Emmerich acquisitions date coincides with year the Unesco convention was established. This seems to be more than just a coincidence for in auction houses' and dealers' catalogues provenance very often starts 1970. We really would like to know whether the Emmerich provenance information is only based on declarations by Emmerich, or if it is based on trustworthy documents. Where and how did Emmerich acquire this statue? Did he get it directly from Peru, or did he buy it any other way? If it came from Peru the exact date plus certified documents to back Emmerich's statements are most welcome and needed. You must be aware that the acquisition of this Huari statue did generate comments from our Peruvian subscribers. These subscribers deserve to be informed about this statue's origin starting before it left Peru, and all the way it travelled untill it's (final?) destination in your museum.
Thank you very much for your attention to this matter. Kindly, Ton Cremers