Overview

Eugene Boban began life in humble circumstances in Paris, traveled to the California Gold Rush, and later became a recognized authority on pre-Columbian cultures. He also invented an entire category of archaeological artifact: the Aztec crystal skull. By his own admission, he successfully palmed off a number of these crystal skulls on the curators of Europe's leading museums. How could that happen, and who was this man? Detailed are the travels, self-education, and archaeological explorations of Eugene Boban; this book also explores the circumstances that allowed him to sell fakes to museums that would remain undetected for over a century.

Full Product Details

Author:   Jane MacLaren Walsh ,  Brett Topping
Publisher:   Berghahn Books
Imprint:   Berghahn Books
ISBN:  

9781789204780

ISBN 10:   178920478
Pages:   348
Publication Date:   17 April 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations Acknowledgments Authors' Note List of Abbreviations Introduction: On the Trail of Crystal Skulls Chapter 1. Caveat Emptor Chapter 2. Between Old World and New Chapter 3. Mexico: Ancient to Modern Chapter 4. Mexico at Mid-Century Chapter 5. The Emperor's Antiquarian: A Collection Takes Shape Chapter 6. Confronting a Different Paris Chapter 7. Marketing a Collection Chapter 8. A Premier Collection Chapter 9. Narratives of Provenance Chapter 10. The Rue du Sommerard Decade Chapter 11. Of Fakes and Fakers Chapter 12. From Student to Teacher: Dealer to Curator Chapter 13. Good Deals and Bad Chapter 14. Back in Business Chapter 15. Fingerprints on Crystal Skulls Chapter 16. Courting the Smithsonian Chapter 17. Of Fakes, Forgers and Frauds Chapter 18. El Tocayo's Triumph Chapter 19. Later Life Chapter 20. Afterlife Epilogue References Index

Reviews

The very detailed and well-documented description of practices of exchange and trade in archaeological objects opens up many avenues for research on the behavior of researchers and the future of collections. Far from being about only Americanism, Jane Walsh and Brett Topping's book paints an unprecedented panorama of the environments and practices of nascent archaeological research. It goes far beyond the biographical aspect of the hero, which serves as a guide for them to reach the level of a true sociological study of the founding community of our discipline. Nouvelles d'Archeologie When analyzing the complex and surprising personality of the antiquarian Eugene Boban, this book should be considered as an important contribution not only to the biography of the man, but, in a general way, to the history of Americanism that was emerging in the 19th century. In addition to the rich documentation, the book also offers a pleasing and enjoyable narrative. We highly recommend it to both the historian of archeology and the novice eager to know more about the mystery of the crystal skulls. HISTOIRE(S) de l'Amerique latine

Author Information

Jane MacLaren Walsh, anthropologist emerita at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, is an internationally recognized authority on crystal skulls and other fake pre-Columbian antiquities. Her most recent research combines geology and archaeology in a study of the iconic stone faces of Teotihuacan.

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