Collecting Mesoamerican Art before 1940

A New World of Latin American Antiquities

Turner Andrew D., O'Neill Megan E.

This book traces the fascinating history of how and why ancient Mesoamerican objects have been collected. It begins with the pre-Hispanic antiquities that first entered European collections in the sixteenth century as gifts or seizures, continues through the rise of systematic collecting in Europe and the Americas during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and ends in 1940-the start of Europe's art market collapse at the outbreak of World War II and the coinciding genesis of the large-scale art market for pre-Hispanic antiquities in the United States. Drawing upon archival resources and international museum collections, the contributors analyze the ways shifting patterns of collecting and taste – including how pre-Hispanic objects changed from being viewed as anthropological and scientific curiosities to collectible artworks-have shaped modern academic disciplines as well as public, private, institutional, and nationalistic attitudes toward Mesoamerican art. As many nations across the world demand the return of their cultural patrimony and ancestral heritage, it is essential to examine the historical processes, events, and actors that initially removed so many objects from their countries of origin.

About the author

Andrew D. Turner is a senior research specialist at the Getty Research Institute. Trained as an archaeologist and art historian, Turner's work focuses on ancient Mesoamerican material culture, religion, and symbolism. He has held positions at Yale University and the University of Cambridge; at Getty he is the project lead for the Pre-Hispanic Art Provenance Initiative, which traces the movement of looted pre-Hispanic art through the international art market.

Megan E. O'Neil is assistant professor of art history at Emory University and faculty curator at the Carlos Museum. Her publications address the ancient Maya and histories of collecting and exhibiting Mesoamerican art.