Isabella: First Day of Archival Research

Today, alongside Lara and Maeve, I spent my morning and afternoon on archival research. Keeping in mind the spheres of Cultures, Function, and Materials (my focus), I began my research in the Gordon Boxes, looking through Gordon's documents from 1910 to 1928. I was able to make my way through each document in six folders, tracking his correspondences with Kirkor Minassian, James A. Montgomery, S. Weir Mitchell, H. Khan Monif, Warren K. Moorehead, and the many collectors involved with the Mohammedan Art Exhibition. Without the objects list, I aimed to spend today familiarizing myself with the archives and I attempted to figure out leads for the creation of the African exhibition.

Out of all the correspondences, the most meaty and relevant documents were the Kirkor Minassian letters. Based on my research, Minassian and Gordon had a year-long battle over two African wood carvings (of a head and stick) from the French Congo. The original price listed for the wood carvings was $1,400, but after Gordon's insistent bargaining, the price was brought down to $315. Even with this reduced price, Gordon only sent Minassian a check for $250, causing great insult to Minassian and, in my opinion, to the carvings. I was also following a lead in their letters over an ivory stick that they speculated to be African, but later discovered that it traced back to Alaska. The correspondences to Minassian particularly interested me because I feel that this may be an illustration of how African art/artifacts are devalued in ethnographic institutions. The haggling could also be credited to tight finances in the Penn Museum, but in other letters regarding Persian art or Native American art, Gordon seemed to be more willing to spend. Another interesting aspect about this correspondence was the fact that Gordon and Kirkor interchangeably used the phrase "Negro art" to describe the African wood carvings.

On Thursday, I will continue digging through Gordon's papers to learn more about how he was as a collector, how the African exhibitions were created, and how African objects were valued within the Penn Museum.

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